Hachimata
by Dragonfly and K-chan
Summary: A new Biju is Discovered. . Several things had happened in her past to make her uneasy around others. then the horrors of her past come back to haunt her. great summary? i'm not good at em. please R&R dragonfly
1. Chapter 1: Soragakure

A/N: Here it is, the moment K-chan has been waiting for. It isn't the Original Chronicles of the Tribunal(this is the second version, I don't like it that much). Yes, I tried to be descriptive with this chapter.. Was I? Oh well.. Me ranting on again. This took me ten minutes to type up. Erm… keep checking up on it because I have many more chapters in store.Another thing... LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK..ACTUALLY I WANT TO KNOW.. SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The battle site had been where they had first met her.

A war between Suna and the new Sky village had been going on for several months. The final battle was to be fought at the very Gates of Sora. The Nin of Konoha were lending their support and helping out Suna.

Both Naruto and Gaara were at the front of the group. News of the village whereabouts were confirmed that it was just ahead, over the ridge of a steep hill. For some odd reason, the ridge had a path leading down from the top of the ridge beyond their view. Naruto opened his mouth, about to say something when _it_ came into view.

It was horrible. The path lead straight up to the massive village gates and the sides of the path were littered with rotting corpses of warriors long since past. The stench coming from the dead made the men's eyes water. From behind, Naruto heard several men upchuck their breakfast. Gaara frowned, this was unexpected. His eyes narrowed as he realized what the path was paved with. Skulls, human skulls. Polished so that they looked like the finest ivory. He felt the bile rise in his throat. Luckily, Naruto hadn't noticed. But he had noticed the flocks of ravens in the air. In fact, there were many birds flying high in the sky, they knew a battle was about to start. The losing side would be the birds feast. Gaara gulped, he hoped it wasn't his side.

That's when they began. The drums. The village gates creaked open as twenty columns of men marched out, at least 100 in each line. Even with the combined efforts of Konoha and Suna, he wasn't sure if it was going to be enough.

"Gaara-sama!" Baki whispered in Gaara's ear.

"Yeah I know." He replied.

"This is bad. Really bad." Naruto said in a quiet nervous voice.

Gaara eyed him. _Oh great, if he's nervous... Oh this doesn't make it any easier for me._

Naruto eyed his friend and smiled. Gaara felt Naruto's reassuring weight on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll make. I still haven't become the Hokage, so I know we'll succeed." Naruto said reassuringly.

Gaara smiled slightly as Sora's forces began their attack. "Right." He looked over at Baki and nodded.

Baki caught the sign and immediately began to work on dispatching groups of Nin to disable the enemy's army.

Gaara and Naruto stood at the top of the ridge and watched in amazement as the two forces clash, dead bodies fell and birds swooped in for the meal. Men's cries of pain, fear, and anger filled the morning air. That's when he noticed her.

The girl was standing on the top of the gates, watching the battle. She kept glancing over at a man who appeared to be giving her instructions. She nodded, said a few words and… Eyed Naruto and Gaara. Within an instant she was gone.

Hi! Umm… yeah….chapter two :The Child of Pain? Is next….yaaaaaaaaay!(I had to read this to K-chan over the phone to get her approval. She says its good)


	2. Chapter 2: The Child of Pain

A/N: Here it is, the moment K-chan has been waiting for. It isn't the Original Chronicles of the Tribunal(this is the second version, I don't like it that much). Yes, I tried to be descriptive with this chapter.. Was I? Oh well.. Me ranting on again. This took me ten minutes to type up. Erm… keep checking up on it because I have many more chapters in store.Another thing... LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK..ACTUALLY I WANT TO KNOW.. SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The Child Of Pain?

"Naruto, I have a bad feeling." Gaara whispered to Naruto who was staring blankly at the scene of countless hundreds dying before him and the fact that he could do nothing to stop the destructive force.

"Why?" a small voice asked from behind.

The two turned around in one single swift movement.

If not for the sad 'I'm not needed' look on her face, Gaara would've said she was beautiful.

Dim orange eyes surveyed the two and the battle beyond behind a sheen of platinum blonde hair. She was frowning, and she looked so sad that it almost broke Naruto's heart. She was clad in simple Ninja clothes: pants and a fishnet shirt with a long sleeved shirt over it. Her head was cocked, she looked perfectly innocent except for the kunai that had been used to slay his guards was in her right hand, dripping fresh blood. His eyes widened; blood. Her hands were bandaged tight.

"W-who are you?" Naruto stuttered.

"It doesn't matter, as far as I'm concerned I don't have one. Nobody is ever around to call me by it anyways." She replied. Gaara blinked, those eyes were getting to him.

"Hey are you ok, you look pale." Naruto asked, taking a step towards her. She took a step backwards. Indeed she was pale, as if she had never seen the sun. Around her neck was the headband of Sora, except it had a scratch across it that reminded the two of akatsuki.

"You should be running." She replied, blinking at the two.

"Why?" Naruto asked as she began making seals.

Gaara's eyes widened, he had seen these kinds of techniques before, by that guy who had. Killed him. "Naruto, get down!" he shouted, as he dove into Naruto, sending them both crashing down to the ground.

They two flinched as the air above their heads became hot, hot, hot! After a few seconds, Naruto looked up into the girls pale, no-expression face. "Why? What are you doing?"

She pulled out a scroll. "Because. I was given the order to track and hunt down the two biju and capture them. So that's what I'm doing."

"But why?"

"Because. I have nothing else to do. Its my life, I do what I'm ordered and ask no questions." She replied as she open the scroll and began a series of complex handsigns.

Naruto's eyes widened, this was fire style jutsu that she was doing. He flinched and ducked as he prepared for what ever she had.

Then stopped as he heard a surprised gasp from the girl. He opened his eyes, they widened.

"so it seems that you weren't dead." The girl said coldly, pulling a kunai out of her throat and watching the blood, her blood, fall in silver drops. Naruto's mouth dropped, she had silver blood.

A howl arose from behind the man as a wolf leapt and soared through the morning air, digging his canines deep within the confines of the mans scrawny neck. The two crashed to the earthy floor, not before Gaara saw the wolf only had one eye.

She then blinked and turned her attention back to the two and finished her Jutsu.

The last thing Gaara remembered was the girl frowning. Her eyes were filled with pain.


	3. Chapter 3: Shadow Talk

A/N: Here it is the third chapter.

Me and my rantings: as I write this, it is 10:30 in the morning. I just woke up, after sleeping for like 8 hours and lying in bed for three, thinking this up. For breakfast, I'm eating a plain krispy crème doughnut, a fudge pop tart, and chicken flavored ramen. After I'm done typing this up, K-chan will go over it and edit it for me. She's going to be my editor. So I won't make any mistakes. She offered it after reading a certain someone's review.. To that person: sorry if I make mistakes. When I write my stories, I'm usually half-awake and out of it. And, my computer doesn't check all the mistakes.. Ermmm and I type with one hand! That's it for that person…. Umm, thanks for the reviews people! I'll go back through and make the chapters longer and better. If I get around to it… (This was two pages typed.)LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK..ACTUALLY I WANT TO KNOW... SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Shadow Talk**

_Where am I?_ Naruto asked himself as he slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, very dark. He frowned as he attempted to raise his hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn. His eyes widened; his hands were chained to the floor!_ No problem the future Hokage can't deal with. The idiots chained me up in simple chains; what fools! All I have to do is concentrate my chakra in a single spot around my wrists and I'll be free!_

The instant he tried, he regretted it. It turned out they weren't regular chains, and the instant he reached for his chakra, the 'chains' sent an electric shock through his body, leaving him in pain and shock. To the left of him, a voice laughed.

"I've already tried that Naruto. It doesn't work."

"Gaara! Where are we?" Naruto cried out as his blue eyes frantically searched the darkness for his friend, but to no avail.

Gaara sighed tiredly. "I _think_ we got captured and we're in some sort of dungeon or prison. But _I'm_ not sure."

"You _think_ huh? Well I _think_ so too. Any idea on how to get out?" He asked, thinking.

"No. I've been up for about an hour, and it's hard to tell since there isn't any light, so I can't track the Sun," he replied.

"An hour! You've been up an hour? Why didn't you wake me up?" Naruto asked, angry.

"Because frankly, I like you better when you're quiet."

"Same here," another voice said quietly.

"Hey, who's that?" Naruto whispered. His eyes were finally getting used to the darkness.

"That's the person who caught us," Gaara replied.

"Really? Why is he down here?"

"No idea, why don't you ask," Gaara replied.

"Okay. Hey, boy! Why are you down here?" Naruto yelled.

Gaara sighed and mumbled under his breath, "I wasn't serious."

"What did you call me? I'm not a boy; I'm a girl, thank you very much. And you can stop yelling, we're only four feet away," the girl replied.

"Really? You're a girl? Sorry. Why are you down here?" He asked, curiosity taking hold of him once again.

"Because, stupid, this is where I live," she replied, somewhat sadly.

"You live down here? In a place like this? How horrible!"

"Oh, just shut up."

"But why? Why would they keep you in a place like this? Don't you have a home?" He could see her now. She was in the cell directly across from his; her knees were up, her arms wrapped around them. Her head was resting on them, orange eyes tired but still filled with…he couldn't describe it in words, but if he could, he would say it was suffering. Her platinum blonde hair was shoulder length. He could see a tattoo of a dragon curled around her neck.

"No, I don't have a home. Monsters have no need for them," she replied.

Gaara's eyes widened as he butted in on the conversation. "Monster? What do you mean by monster?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

"You should know, since you two both have them in you."

"Have what in us?" Naruto asked, lost.

For once, the orange-eyed girl looked at him. "Biju. You two just stumbled upon another Jinchūriki without knowing it."

"A Jinchūriki? What's that?"

"Power of the human sacrifice. That's what it means, Naruto," Gaara explained

"Oh..." Naruto said quietly, eyes downcast. "But why do they keep you here?"

"That's what they do with monsters, don't they? Keep them locked up in cages until they're needed," she replied.

"But it's wrong!"

"So is sealing demons inside humans, but they still do it."

"Yeah but keeping you caged up still isn't right."

"Oh just shut up. You have no idea what it's like to be caged up for your whole life."

"Actually I do… kind of," Naruto said sadly.

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, I know for a fact that neither Gaara nor I have ever been caged up, but it sure feels that way."

"Really?"

"Yeah…I've always been allowed out, but I never knew my father, or anyone else in my family for that matter. I never had any friends; everyone steered well away from me and I never knew why."

"Well isn't that a sad story."

"Naruto, just drop it, she isn't going to listen."

"No Gaara, listen to me. She will listen, because she's just like us-"

"I am not just like you two. Look at yourselves, chained up like feral dogs-"

"Oh, as if you're doing any better!' Gaara interrupted.

"Please, just listen," Naruto pleaded.

"Why should I?"

"Because, if we work together…maybe we can get out."

"You may have somewhere to stay, but I don't."

Naruto smiled. "That's no problem! You can stay in Suna or Konoha!"

Gaara looked at him, eyes wide. "Now wait just a second. Who said she can stay in _my_ village?"

Naruto ignored him. "Please, just think about it."

"Fine. What is it you want me to do, oh great noisy one?" She asked, giving in.

"Well that was quick…no arguments really…" Gaara said trailing off confused.

"It's hard to have any spirit when it's beaten out of you. You're right, I do want to leave."

Naruto gasped. "You've been beaten?" He asked, horrified.

She turned around to face him. "Welcome to the country of death, boys, make yourselves comfortable, cause we aren't leaving 'til early in the morn, if at all."

"What? Why in the morning?" Naruto asked, outraged.

"Because at night, creatures, monsters, roam the land, destroying and devouring any living thing they come in contact with. They are near impossible to defeat."

"Land of death, eh?" Gaara sighed, looking up at the dark ceiling that loomed overhead.

"Hey, I got a question," Naruto spoke up.

"Yes?"

"Well, why is your cage so ermmm..."

"Weak looking? Because they figured I would have nowhere to go, so what was the point of leaving?"

"Well, you can stay at one of our villages! Yeah! Believe it!"  
"You're weird, you know that," she said smiling, sliding to the ground, eyes closed.

"Trust me, you have no idea," Gaara said, glancing over at his 'friend'.


	4. Chapter 4: Her Name

A/N: Here it is the fourth chapter.

Me and my rantings: as I write this, it is 2:34 in the afternoon.. I must laugh at this, Itichimikarook is a funny name! ha! But, I made it up so I must respect it... he he! It made my friends laugh! Fun-fun-funny! This chapter isn't supposed to be that long after all, they're only spending about twenty minutes wasting time...LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK...ACTUALLY, I WANT TO KNOW... SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Her Name **

"Well, we're going to be here for a while," Naruto said, speaking up after the twenty minute silence.

"Yes, and…?" The girl asked.

"Well, ermmm… we can get to know each other better!"

"Oh joy," Gaara sighed.

"You're just full of talk, aren't you? Well, I'm bored and I can't sleep, so why not?" The girl said, sitting up straight and looking at them. Her orange eyes shone in the dark.

"Noo," Gaara moaned.

"Ok, I'll start. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm from the village hidden in the leaves, and I like ramen and this girl named Sakura. And, one day, I'm going to be the Hokage. You next Gaara," Naruto said happily, his blue eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"I hate you. My name is Sabaku no Gaara, I like no one...ermmm…and I'm the Kazekage. Joy."

"Okay. What do I say?"

"Well, what's your name?" Naruto asked her. His blue eyes picked out her frown. "Don't tell me you don't have one. If you don't, I guess our two brilliant minds could think one up," he suggested, smiling.

"It's not that I don't have one, it's that I...haven't been called it for so long."

"Okay, let's hear it," Naruto said, smiling in a friendly way.

Her orange eyes looked into his blue ones. "It's... Kikiru. My name is Kikiru."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? Wow, that's a pretty name."

"My last name is Itichimikarook. You wouldn't guess what my clan does…" She said, trailing off, eyes looking away from both.

Naruto was getting really interested. "Oooh, what?"

"Well, my clan is the ruling family of Sora, along with one third of the land. I'm from the third branch. In all, there are four branches and one main. I _had _two sisters, but I think they both died. The last time I remember seeing them was when I was four. That's when I was last called…" She said, trailing off, eyes downcast.

Naruto was looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Well, wait a minute. If you're part of the leading family, why were you made to hold the Biju?" He asked.

She glanced at him and laughed. "I'm sure that you know the way branch families are; they want more power than the main. And, well, that's what they got. But they weren't happy with it and made a show of getting rid of me, while in reality, they kept me locked down here for so many years."

"They created a monster... same here," Gaara said, speaking up after hearing their conversation.

"Believe me when I say, I feel you're pain," Kikiru said, smiling.

"Hey, hey, how old are you?" Naruto asked.

"You first," she ordered, looking at him, waiting.

"Okay. We're fifteen," he replied, smiling widely.

"Correction: you're fifteen. I'm fifteen going on sixteen this month," Gaara corrected.

"Oh. Well, I'm fourteen going on fifteen in five months," she added, smiling.

"Wow…" Naruto said slowly, counting up the years in his mind; she hadn't seen her family for ten years.

"Well, let's see. We have the Kazekage, and the Hokage to be… ermmm, I'm not so sure what those are..." she trailed off, unsure.

"Kages are village leaders who are sworn to protect their village and their people," Gaara said quietly. He was looking up at the shafts of light that were coming down from the ceiling.

"Looks like it's almost time to go," Kikiru said, standing up.


	5. Chapter 5: Good Morning

A/N: Behold-eth! The fifth Chapter!

Me and my rantings: as I write this, it is 8:34 in the night! This chapter isn't supposed to be that interesting.. I feel stupid LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK...ACTUALLY, I WANT TO KNOW... SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Good morning**

"So," Naruto said to his new 'friend' as the three ran through the underground passageways. "Just where exactly are we going?"

"Well, this dungeon is filled with lost passageways that all lead to different exits;

some of them go on for miles. Only a few of them are used but they all have guards stationed at each exit."

"Oh joy. We'll be running for miles," Gaara said from behind.

"Not really. Yenmai and his group are stationed at one not too far from where we were being kept. Outside there's about ten guards, so no trouble."

"So all we have to do is strike down this guy Yenmai and his groupies, and then annihilate the guards. Believe it!" Naruto yelled. He looked over at Kikiru, her mouth was open. "You o-" he began as she started laughing.

"Yenmai isn't a man."

"Oh...he's a she?"

"No! He's a wolf, stupid."

"A-A wolf?" Naruto repeated, slowing down. The other two stopped and stared at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked in an innocent tone.

Naruto was remembering what had happened before he had passed out. That one wolf that had leapt at the mans throat and ripped it open…the image of the wolf drinking the man's blood…he shivered. Then he saw the worried expressions on his friends and smiled. "Nothing, it's just that-" he hugged himself. "It's getting colder in here."

Gaara looked at Kikiru. "Yeah, I noticed that too."

"Oh yeah, prepare yourselves. The village is set up a bit differently then others… we have an outer village and an inner one. The inner one is wonderful, I can't describe it. But the outer one is desolate and empty, cold as death they say," she said, smiling as they started on again. Gaara was now in front, Kikiru bringing up the rear.

Then, suddenly, the two in front of her stopped. "What is it?" She inquired.

Naruto looked back at her and pointed into the room. "Th-theres a lot of w-wolves in t-the room."

"Oh! That's my thirteen," she said, stepping forward into the room and pulling out a slim silver whistle. She lifted it to her lips and blew; no sound came out.

Naruto waited a second, then spoke up. "Ermmm, I think your whistle-thingy is bro-" he broke off as the wolves ears pricked up as they sat up, all yellow eyes on them.

She counted them. "One, five, eight, ten, twelve, and thirteen...we're missing one."

"But I thought you said there were thirteen."

She glanced at him. "There's thirteen in the band. This band has a puppy, unlike so many others. Yenmai!"

A wolf stood up, almost like a salute. Gaara recognized this one as the one who had brutally murdered his guard. In the better light, he could tell that the wolf's muzzle was covered in scars from countless skirmishes and battles he had no doubt been a part of. He had one good eye, while the other had a white scar running down it. The eye was milky white and was glazed over, making the wolf seem half dead. Then something even more surprising than his appearance unfolded. "The little one is right here," he announced as a little white ball of fluff appeared from between his forelegs.

"Thank you. I knew you would keep him safe," she replied, walking forward. Confused, the other two followed.

Naruto waited until she had picked up the pup and it was resting content in her arms to shout something out. "Oh wow, a talking dog, awesome! Hah, if Kiba could see this…! Do they all talk?" He shouted, looking around the room. All thirteen pairs of yellow eyes were fixed on him, and the wolves were growling.

"I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf. And for god's sake can you be quiet," Yenmai growled at him.

"We'll be leaving in a few minutes, prepare yourselves," another wolf said, walking up to Kikiru, something odd in his mouth. It was in the shape of a cylinder (the shape reminded Naruto of the scroll Jiraiya carried, but it was a bit smaller) with a seemingly screw-off lid, along with a strap that meant it was to be worn. The strap had pouches down its length that were filled with unknown things. The wolf carried it with pride, no wonder it was hers.

"Thanks Itami," she said quietly, picking it up and slinging it over her shoulder. Naruto watched as five wolves slinked out of the room, down a corridor that had light filtering in. Within several seconds, the sounds of cries cut short by the gurgle of blood filled the room from the outside. A lone wolf came back in and Kikiru headed out, the two following her along with the rest of the pack, Yenmai at her side.

Naruto smiled slightly. _So this is her family. Now I really feel bad for her. If only there was a way I could help…_


	6. Chapter 6: Perfect Team?

A/N: Behold-eth! The fifth Chapter!

Me and my rantings: as I write this, it is 10:00 in the night! Hrmnmm, after reading Kyra Odayashi's review, I felt... moved (K-chan thinks me saying that is funny) to write yet another chapter. I might as well write another one while I'm at it…LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK...ACTUALLY, I WANT TO KNOW... SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Perfect Team: the Idiot, the Loner, and the Murderer**

Naruto's eyes widened as they passed the dead bodies; it was horrid, but he promised himself he wouldn't stop. The wolves broke out into groups and fanned out, disappearing from view. He looked up at the dark sky. Are you sure it's not nighttime?"

"Completely sure. In the morning, it's freezing cold and pitch black. The 'creatures' don't like the cold. Anyways, we have to make it out of here and halfway across the desert by the time the sun begins to rise."

"When's that?" Gaara asked as he watched his breath turn into vapor before his eyes.

"In about half an hour. We should be safe. They don't normally post guards at the outside gates unless there's news of an attack."

"For someone who's spent their life in a cage, you sure do know a lot about the village."

She eyed him. "Everyone has their sources."

Gaara sighed and focused his eyes on the path ahead. _There's something she isn't telling us; I'm not sure what. Is she leading us into a trap? If she is, it would probably break Naruto's heart, knowing the way his mind works. He probably thinks that because she's like us, she won't betray us. He probably hasn't noticed yet. I wonder if she has, probably. I've heard wolves can smell things a mile away,_ he thought as he watched a dark shadow leap from building top to building top through the corner of his eye.

"Where are they going?" A voice buzzed over the radio.

"I'm not sure sensei, I think they're headed towards the village gates," the shadow replied.

"Where's Kikiru? Do they have her? Is she hurt?" Another voice practically screamed, making the man halfway deaf.

"No, she's following them. I think they managed to talk her into it. Don't worry though, if they do pass through the final guards, we'll catch them," the shadow reassured the two on the radio.

"Good."

It was taking too long; he had to ask. "Hey, have you noticed yet that we're being followed?" Gaara asked, a bit loud.

Kikiru slid to a stop and looked back. "Yenmai?"

"We don't sense anything, there's no scent. I'm sorry."

"It's ok," She said quietly, orange eyes searching.

Gaara let out a relived sigh._ Judging by her expression and the scared look in her eyes, I guess she didn't know. But, there's no way to know. I guess I still have to be cautious for now._

They had finally got outside of the village. Kikiru stood back as Naruto and Gaara searched through the piles of dead, hoping that the ones they knew were still alive.

Gaara found few that he knew. He couldn't remember their names, adding more to his sadness. One had been still alive, and died in his arms.

"Kazekage-sama…I'm so glad you're still alive," he had whispered, raising a shaking hand, only to have it fall to his side as his eyes glazed over and his skin grew cold.

Naruto had found none that he knew. They were all dead, and he was freaking out big time. "Oh god! They all died! And it's all my fault!"

"I'm sorry for your losses," Kikiru said, speaking for the first time in over twenty minutes.

"It's ok, it isn't your fault. Naruto, lets go," Gaara said quietly.

"Okay," Naruto said quietly as they began walking up the steep hill.

At the top, Naruto stopped and looked back at the dead. "I swear, by my honor and duty as the future Hokage, I will repent for all the lives lost."

Gaara smiled. "Naruto…" Kikiru whispered softly.

Then they walked into the rising sun.

P.S: next time, Sunagakure. Kikiru's first visit into the village and she's shy as heck. Naruto spends his time explaining things to her, Gaara's just plain annoyed.

(K-Chan's notes: I love being the beta. Poor Gaara…;; Hopefully, Dragonfly will be a little less evil to him. Yeah right. Anyways, this was an awesome chapter!)


	7. Chapter 7: Do you know what this is?

A/N: Behold-eth! The Six-eth Chapter!

Me and my rantings: as I write this, it is 10:54 in the night! Hrmnmm, sorry, tis is my last update for tonight, Kyra Odayashi tomorrow i write yet another chapterBelieve me when I say it shall be funny! …LEAVE COMMENTS!I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK...ACTUALLY, I WANT TO KNOW... SAME THING...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Luckily for the trio, they had run into an old man who was carting his sales into Suna. After Gaara had a talk to the man and convinced him that he was the Kazekage, they had a nice ride to Suna.

"Ok…yeah, welcome to my humble home," Gaara said, opening the door for the other two.

"Wow, nice place. It's set up the way I would think a single man would have it," Naruto said smiling.

"As if yours looks any better; I bet your house looks like a dump!" Gaara said, eyes flashing hate.

"Does not!" _Does too... _Naruto yelled back. After several seconds of argument, the two looked around and realized that Kikiru was still standing outside, looking in the house with fear.

"Um…you can kinda come in," Gaara said, watching her. _She's weird._

She stepped in slowly and looked around. Naruto smiled idiotically. "First time being in a house?"

"Is that what this is, a house? No, I don't remember being in one. I might've been when I was little," she replied.

_Jeez, I was only kidding. She didn't have to go and make it sound depressing! _"Oh well.." He spotted what he assumed to be Gaara's breakfast table and pointed at it. "Do you know what a table is? Or a chair?"

She glared at him. "What, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Ermmm...no. Just wondering...hey! Do you know what a fridge is? How about a fruit bowl? A carton of milk?"

Gaara sighed and walked over to her side. The expression on her face was turning into one of anger, and he didn't know her abilities so he would rather not let her get pissed off. "Here, I'll show you where you can stay and then I'll find some way to shut him up."

She glanced over at Naruto, who was still blurting out random household items, then turned her attention back to Gaara. "Sure. Lead the way."

Halfway up the stairs, Gaara stopped and opened a door that was so well blended with the wall she wouldn't have known it was there.

She uttered a single word of thanks and disappeared into the room, closing the door.

Gaara sighed and went downstairs to the idiot and hit him on the back f the head. "Baka, you can shut up now."

Naruto blinked several times and looked at him with a dazed expression. "W-where did Kikiru Nee-san go?"

"I think she went to sleep; you should too. I have to return to my office," he said, holding a hand up before Naruto could open his mouth. "I'll send a letter to Konoha, just go."

Naruto nodded and disappeared upstairs. Gaara watched him go, then he headed outside and locked the door.


	8. Chapter 8: Kankurou

A/N: ATTENTION! Erm, sorry for the delay. A bazillion things happened at once. First, my parents decided to go to the renaissance festival for the whole day! It took two hours of driving (I wrote this in the car). When we finally got back around 5:00. When I went to get on my computer, it brought up a screen saying that all my drivers had been deleted. So, it took two hours to fix that up (while waiting I thought up another storyline involving all the biju). I then spent the night at K-Chan's but her computer wouldn't connect to the Internet. Finally, it did and I got online and read all the wonderful reviews and felt once again moved to write another chapter. Today, I came home with the full intention to type up six chapters! But guess what, my computer crashed and I guess it deleted EVERYTHING but I wouldn't know, we cant get it to work...I think the motherboard is corrupted or something...so ermm yeah…I'm typing this up on me dad's computer...so sorry if some of the characters are out of character in this chapter…oh yeah, Naruto doesn't belong to me. Behold the ermm... Eighth Chapter! (Hah! I can too count K-Chan)! Yeah, reeeeeeeeally sorry for the delay. Forgive meee! Ok yeah, I'll attempt to get the ninth chapter done today. But K-Chan isn't currently home. (I am now! -KC) so sorry for any mistakes! Ad I'm not going to stop writing this for a while. But I might tell you a spoiler as to how this one ends yeah but don't worry, I'm going to make a sequel!

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Kankurou sighed as he stood outside Gaara's door. He had been ringing the doorbell repeatedly for the past ten minutes and was starting to get ticked off. No one was answering; he didn't even hear anyone moving around inside.

He had heard last night that Gaara and Naruto had returned, and that they were the only ones. He really wanted to see his little brother again (he had been gone two weeks on a mission); after all he had already visited Temari. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he pounded on the door.

"If you aren't going to open up, I'm going to come in!" He yelled, pulling a key out of one of his concealed pockets. _Hah! Gaara doesn't know I have this. Too bad for him though… I have to think up a punishment worthy enough_…he thought as he opened the door and quietly slipped in without anyone seeing.

He smiled as a plan came to mind. He would sneak upstairs into his brother's room and wake him up with his puppets, even though he really wanted to jump on him. But waking up Gaara by jumping on him didn't seem like a smart idea. But before any of that could come, he just had to drop a cup of ice-cold water on a certain sleeping Naruto's head for being rude to him at the Chuunin exams.

He wasn't surprised to find that Naruto's room was the one furthest away from Gaara's. He didn't blame him; who would want to sleep near a noisy kid like that? He probably snores too. He was surprised to find that Naruto's room was empty. Yep, this was definitely Naruto's room judging by how much of a mess the room was, from the doorway to the walls. He frowned as he looked at the poor trashed room; it was a total mess. The bed was completely messed up, with the sheets thrown on the floor, empty ramen containers were strewn about everywhere, and there was trash all over the place.

He sighed as he began to close the door to hide the horrid messiness from his poor, poor eyes, then paused when he saw something small and white laying on the bed.

He slowly maneuvered his way through the messy room and picked up the envelope; it was addressed to Gaara. He smiled and pocketed it; he would deliver it later. Now for Gaara…

Halfway up the stairs, he came to a dead stop. Not because a door that he hadn't known was there was open, but because there was someone sleeping in the room. He couldn't see who it was though, so he decided to go check it out.

Five minutes later he ran out of the room and closed the door. It had been a girl, and a pretty one at that. In Gaara's house. A girl in Gaara's house that he had never seen before. His mind went back to the sign on the headband on the dresser; it had been engraved with the yin-yang symbol, the symbol of the nin of Sorakagure. He remembered hearing news about the war going on between the two countries. Obviously they weren't at war anymore, if there was a Sora nin in Suna, in Gaara, the Kazekage's, house.

He smiled; what was going on? Had his brother finally found 'love'? If so, why hadn't he been notified?

He went downstairs; he was going to find out. He was going straight to Gaara's office.

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:D Funny or not? It'll get a bit better in the next chapter. Also, the chapter Ten shalt be labeled Akatsuki...Tomorrow, I shall write up the chapters in class, promise :)… LEAVE REVIEWS! Pwease.

(K-Chan's Notes: Yo! God, that Renaissance festival was one of the most troublesome places to go to EVER. I almost got heat stroke.TT Ugh. I did get this pretty fan thing though; Dragonfly got a cool parasol. But the drive there was HELL. Dragonfly's little bro and his friend would NOT SHUT UP! I was in a great deal of pain at the time (headaches, severe motion sickness, and cramps), so hearing the little runts singing some stupid song at the top of their goddamned lungs made me want to hurt things. Namely them. Okay, I know you don't want to hear me rattle on about my pain anymore. Sorry. Anyways, this was a lovely chapter. :D I lol'd. Heehee, since I am a privileged person, I know what's going to happen! Hint: My darling will be in here soon! I think. I forgot. But wait, you don't know who my darling is…damn. Oh well! If I gave any other hint, Dragonfly would strangle me. ;; Ja ne! Til next time!

IMPORTANT NOTE TO MAKOTO: Yo. K-Chan here to fill ya in: I'm afraid you have it wrong; the biju Kikiru has is a wolf; this could be correct. The biju is a CANINE SPIRIT. It is not listed specifically as a dog. Canines include dogs, wolves, coyotes, etc. It could be any one of those; wolf just happens to be most appealing. :) There, I hope that clears up everything.


	9. Chapter 9: The Letter

A/N: Yaaay for A.M.!(More like boo)I wrote this in A.M. while Rping with K-Chan at the same time!(omg, multi-tasking) It was soooo loud in there! Arrggles!(the hell? K-Chan)

Behold the power of chapter Nine!

-dramatic drum roll-

"Oy Gaara!" Kankurou yelled, bursting in the room, leaving a whirlwind of papers in his wake.

Gaara looked up at him with an irritated look in his eyes as the last paper made its way to the already paper-covered floor in a graceful arc.

"Oh...umm. Err; yeah I'll pick it up later. But first I _have_ to talk to you about a certain something."

"Ok. What is this certain something that you feel that you have to run In here and mess up my office. Its must be really important." He said in a non-caring tone as he resumed his work.

"So." He said smiling widely. "You finally found one."

Gaara didn't even look up from his work this time. "Found what?"

"You know." Kankurou said, sticking up his left pinky. "A girl."

Gaara looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "Where the hell did you get that idea?" he asked in a somewhat curious tone.

"You know, the girl in your house."

"Well, if you're going to think that way, Naruto was at my house too." Gaara said, looking back at his work.

"Well, yeah but.. I never thought of my little brother as being gay…"

Gaara glared at him. "I'm not."

"Sooo...Moving on... She isn't yours?"

"Who?"

"The girl in your house."

"You call that changing the subject? No, she _isn't_ mine." Gaara said putting emphasis on his words in hopes that Kankurou wouldn't ask him again.

"Well, if she isn't yours…." Kankurou said trailing off, smiling.

"Good luck. Is that all?" Gaara asked, flipping the page.

"Thanks... Oh no, it isn't." Gaara looked up at him. "I found this in Naruto's room." Kankurou said, pulling out the envelope and handing it to Gaara who was patiently holding an outstretched hand in his direction. "It was on his bed. I'll uhhh... Just be going now." He added, turning towards the door and taking a step back.

"Hey, wait a minute." Gaara said pausing and looking up at his retreating brother's back. His eyes narrowed. "How did you know they were at my house?"

"Umm, well I have my ways…" he replied, opening the door.

"_Kankurou…_" Gaara growled as Kankurou slipped out and slammed the door shut, causing an up rise of papers. "**_KANKUROU!"_**

Gaara sighed and sat down; he would deal with his brother later. _But_, his eyes strayed to the envelope. He picked it up.

**To: Gaara**

Was written on the front. Gaara smiled faintly as he opened it.

**_Dear Gaara:_**

_**Sorry about me having to leave so early, but you know duty calls. Actually, duty didn't call, my house did.**_

**_I really missed my house; I mean I really_ _missed it. Your house is great and all, it's really big and stuff... But mines better, hah! And no offence but the ramen your village has sucks! Ichiraku ramen is the best in the world and totally owns all other ramen shops... I should take you there sometime so you can witness the almighty power of Ichiraku ramen!_**

**_Anyways, I left in a hurry so the room I was staying in is kinda in a mess... sorry… I feel I'm forgetting something… Oh yeah!_**

**_Keep Kikiru-Nee-San safe! You know how the Akatsuki are... They'll hunt her down and… CURSE THAT BAND OF FREAKS! Eventually we'll have to tell her… if you don't keep her safe, I'll have to personally, me the future Hokage, come down and bring her to Konoha. Also, don't let her stay inside all the time. Now that's she freed from the evil cage, she needs to get op and smell the roses. Get to know people, the decent ones... I don't know; introduce her to your brother and sister. Catch up on those ten years lost._**

**_Your Friend,_**

_**Uzumaki Naruto**_

_**(A.K.A.: the Future Hokage)**_

_P.S: I will be the Hokage one day, BELIEVE IT!_

_P.S.S.: Don't be so dreary and down. I mean, you died and you're still living! You're the youngest Kazekage ever! Get to know people, dot stay locked up in your office all the time. GET OUT AND LIVE A LITTLE!_

"Uzumaki…" Gaara whispered smiling. He closed the letter and stood up. He headed towards the door, pausing to pick up a folder.

The folder was titled: Akatsuki

A/n: Yaaaaaaaaay! I finished it, I finished hand writing this in the frigid environment of Mr. Daugherty's room. No seriously, he keeps it like a Moorg in there.

Guess what, my computer has came back from the dead! Yaay! Oh well. Next chapter, any guesses for the title of it? ta-ta.. Oh,

P.S: sorry about the uber delay, forgive me!... LEAVE COMMENTS!

P.S.S: yes K-Chan, I'm Insane..


	10. Chapter 10: Ashi

A/N: guess what? I got an F on my report card.. –Sigh- you're not going to be hearing from me for a while. I'll probably handwrite chapters and ask K-Chan to upload them… I **_HATE _**school… don't we all? I mean, how does math help me in writing stories? And I'm not going to need a A+ in PE. I'm gonna sit on my butt all day and write stories and make billions. Who needs to run a mile? BTW, that's what we had to do today I got 9:40 while K-Chan got... I think 12:28 or something.. And I have asthma! I couldn't breathe dead serious.. If only I had passed out for 8 days.. if only if only..

Behold the power of chapter Ten!

**AKATSUKI**

"Here. Read these." Gaara said as he handed Kikiru the folder.

Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, and Kikiru were sitting outside. They were eating lunch late in the afternoon. Kankurou wasn't wearing his usual black 'costume'; instead he was dressed in a plain T-shirt and pants. Temari was wearing her regular outfit; Gaara was wearing his Kazekage suit. Kikiru was dressed in something different: black Capris, Sandals, and a Black shirt that was missing the shoulder and neck part (kinda like Temari's) with fishnet sleeves that started just below her shoulders, along with her village headband round her neck. Her hands were still bandaged, and now that her arms were visible, Gaara could distinguish two tattoos one on each arm. They were both Dragons, one black one white.

"What's this?" she asked quietly. Her wolf, which Gaara had come to know as Yenmai (the one eyed one) was sitting by her side. After a minute it became obvious that the wolf could read because he read the title.

"Akatsuki? Who are they?" he asked, curious.

"Hmmm." Kikiru hummed as she flipped the cover open.

"The Akatsuki is a group of nine missing nin ,whose profiles are so bad they are listed in the bingo book. These nine seek out the power of the nine who possess the nine Biju, also known as ultimate powers. They capture the Containers and forcefully extract the Biju with a jutsu that takes three days to complete, that ends in the containers unavoidable death." He finished, looking up at the humans.

"They sound interesting." Kikiru commented.

The wolf glared at her. "They sound dangerous."

"Yeah, they are. They caught Gaara here and took out the Biju." Kankurou corrected.

Kikiru's vermillion eyes looked into Gaara's blue ones. "So, that means you died. Interesting. How was it?" she asked interested.

He looked down at his hands. "it was… Dark.. And empty.. Like a... a …"

"An abyss." Kikiru said smiling in an odd way.

"Yeah. Kind of like that."

"Well then, I know I'm not going to let myself get caught by them." She said quietly, fingering her headband around her neck.

"Yeah, but the village has increased its security quite a bit, hasn't it? She'll be safe, wont she?" Temari asked, speaking up for the first time, voice filled with concern.

"Your enemies will always find a way in." Yenmai said, looking down at the ground.

"Well. Its like Uzumaki said, you have to be aware of the dangers you face to fully know how to protect yourself." Gaara said quietly.

"Yeah…" Kankurou said trailing off. He didn't like the wolf, it made him uncomfortable that it could talk _and_ read. It was too much. It made him wonder what else Sora Nin could do.

"So." Kikiru said breaking the odd silence." There's nine of them?"

"Yeah." Gaara said reaching over and flipping the page of the folder to reveal profiles on all the known Akatsuki members.

"Deidara, Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, and Zetsu. That's all the known ones?" she asked, flipping through the pages.

"Yeah but Sasori was killed." Kankurou said speaking up, proud to reveal a fact she didn't know.

"Really… interesting…" Kikiru said quietly.

"So, you'll be able to bring Sasori-Danna back, yeah?" a worried Deidara asked in the darkness of the lab in the Akatsuki base.

"Yeah. I should be able to with my clans Kekkei Genkai." A young man said as he looked over the motionless puppet body of Sasori.

"Ummm, you sure?"

"Yes. Even though he isn't flesh and bones, he still has a human core which a soul can be attached to. I can bring him back. I just need a bit of time and afterwards, some rest."

"Really? Thank you Ashi, yeah!" Deidara said happily, walking out of the room.

Ashi fingered a scratched Takigakure headband. Some days, he really wished he hadn't gone psychotic and killed his whole clan. But he was so valuable, being someone who could bring the dead back to life without a sacrifice. At least he got praised for his ability now.

A/N: Yaaay! Chapter ten done! Oooh, Kyra, you'll like the like, ohhh.. Thirteenth chapter I think, it'll have all of Konoha's nin in it. Including Lee ( K-Chan gave me the idea of him calling her an angel) oh well, next chapter…ermmm. Akatsuki invade! Yeah, that's it!


	11. Chapter 11: Deidara

A/N: ermmm. Behold the eleventh chapter!

Deidara

"This village is so big. I curse _him_ for making me spend the whole day out in the village.. Not fair. The door better be unlocked." Kikiru whined to herself as she walked the dark empty streets of Suna. That's when she first saw him, the weirdo on the bird. It had only been a glimpse but...

_I'm probably just imagining things. Yeah, that's it! Imaging things. It was probably just a bird.. With a man on its back? I doubt it. And at this time?_ She glanced at her watch, it was 9:20 pm. _Ohhh! Curse this village!... now I have the odd feeling I'm being followed…_

(BTW: the "in front of the italic words when she's thinking is the Biju's thoughts. She can mentally communicate with it.)

_"Child, you're scaring yourself. Just calm down. You probably did imagine it."_

_Oh shut up Hachi. You try staying calm when some freak riding a huge deformed bird is chasing you._

_"Child. You're over-reacting."_

_Yeah, I know.. But this is why I hate being out. I hate people and I never know what to do or say.._

_"I don't blame you. No one here does. Just try to calm down. You're almost there."_

_Really?_

"Ummm. Hey, you. Yeah. You." A voice called from up ahead. Kikiru stopped in her tracks. She looked up, orange eyes widened. It was the guy, (or was that a girl?) and the big bird thingy.

Orange eyes narrowed, she had no times to deal with humans.

She began to take a step forward and stopped when her eyes caught the faint reflection of light on thin wires that were stretched out across the court.

It was then that she realized what the. Thing was wearing. An Akatsuki cloak and his blonde hair was back in a ponytail. Orange eyes widened, Deidara, she hadn't actually expected to see him. She frowned; she had taken things for granted and trusted Temari when she said that all was safe. What a load of bull. She hadn't realized that she had said it aloud until the guy across from her replied.

"Wow, you know my name and everything. You're right; the whole safety thing is a load of bull, yeah?"

She gritted her teeth, all she wanted was to get home, and she didn't feel up for a fight. She hadn't had a battle for almost t.. Years now. She smiled slightly. "So, where's your partner, didn't he died?"

"Yeah, and then Ashi brought him back to life." Deidara replied.

Her eyes flickered back to the wires for a split second. That's when Deidara decided to make his attack.

Orange eyes widened as the bird hopped and leapt towards her. She took a step back, tripping on a wire and twirling away, eyes widening as a shower of kunai erupted from the ground, tearing her sleeve and roughly brushing against her skin.

Orange eyes flickered back to Deidara as he made a hand seal and whispered something. Her eyes went back to the bird-thingy and widened when she saw it start to explode. Both arms went up instinctively as a sort of shield she braced herself as the bird detonated.

"Damn, where did she go?" Deidara whispered furiously through gritted teeth. His eyes searched the village from high up on another bird. He frowned, sooner or later he would be spotted and that would be game over.

Heavy breathing filled an alleyway as liquid silver dripped to the ground. "Damnit. What the heck is that guy trying to do? Is he trying to kill me?" she asked herself as she gripped a single kunai that was sticking out of her right elbow, her eyes closed tight as she pulled it out.

A howl of pain followed.

"What was that?" Deidara asked himself, looking off towards the darker part of town. He smiled slightly, no duh. Of course she would e hiding somewhere dark.

"Hey stupid, where you going?" a voice called from behind.

He turned as a Kunai shot towards his face; luckily, the flapping wing of his bird caught it. He smiled at the girl.

"You're the stupid one coming out like that. You have no chance at beating me you silly gir-" he said stopping: her eyes were blood red.

"**Enkou hinote no jutsu! (Halo of fire)" she yelled, making several complex hand signs. Within an instant, Deidara found himself engulfed in a ring of flames. He detonated his bird, sending him up above the ring of flames that blew up with the bird.**

**"Is that all you've got?" he yelled, pulling out more birds and making several seals.**

**The last thing she remembered was flying back, into a building wall. And drifting into unconsciousness.**

A/N: Leave Reviews!


	12. Chapter 12: Aftermath

**A/N**: ermmm…yeah...umm leave reviews! I'm completely grounded. My dad might even take away the monitor...damn.

**Aftermath**

_W-where am I_? The question asked as sunlight reached vermilion eyes. She blinked rapidly, taking in her surroundings. She was in a house, nowhere near as big as Gaara's though. It had a kind of lonely feeling, one that a single guy might keep. No wonder.

"Hey, you're awake! Are you ok?" Kankurou asked, face appearing over the side of the couch she was laying on.

She rolled over and faced the wall. "No. What happened?"

"Umm…I think you passed out. Whether it was from the blood loss or the force of that girl's explosion, I'm not sure..." he said trailing off. She looked pretty even like this.

"You're weird. Remind me again how you knew where I was?" She asked, still not looking at him.

He frowned. How to explain to her that he had been partially been stalking her, partially minding his own business without making her angry... "Hey, I saw you use that fire technique."

"Yeah. Something I learned awhile ago...with the Hachibi's help…" she said trailing off, yawning.

"Hachibi? Oh! That's what's in you isn't it, the eight tail?" He asked, surprised.

This time she didn't reply, just merely nodded.

He frowned and got up, grabbing a blanket from the cabinet and lightly draping it over her shoulders.

An hour later, Gaara finally showed up, with Baki and another guy he didn't know. And much to Kankurou's displeasure, Naruto was there too.

"Where's Nee-san?" He demanded.

"Shh! Be quiet, she's sleeping," Kankurou whispered as he ushered the two into his 'humble' home.

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"So, we'll come by and pick her up in the morning, right Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked the Kyuubi boy as they headed out the door

"Yeah! And then I can introduce her to everyone around Konoha! Believe it!" He yelled, excited and happy.

"Well, at least I wont have to live with _her_ anymore," Gaara said, looking over his brother's shoulder as he stood at the doorway.

"Well, she isn't that bad," Kankurou began.

"You're just saying that because you like her. If it was up to her, she would stay inside for the rest of her life."

"Well, you have to understand what's happened to her. She's had a rough past."

"We don't know that for sure. All we have is _her_ word. She's hiding something; I can feel it. She doesn't seem like someone who's been caged up her entire life."

"Well bro, just give it a while and maybe her true colors will shine through. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Gaara said as he disappeared down the steps, deep in thought.

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"I'm sure of it; I saw the mark. She has the same dragon tattoo around her neck. She even has orange eyes, yeah." Deidara informed his fellow Akatsuki member.

She looked at him, blood red eyes narrowing. Her hand went to the dragon coiled around her neck and a slight smile lit her lips. "Really? Then maybe my sweet little sister didn't die. Something tells me she won't be staying in Suna for long. My bet is the next place is Konoha. But this time, I'm going. Once she really gets started, she'll be hard to stop. Our kekkei genkai is hard to fight against...something tells me she knows how to use it."

"You mean the whole fire thing, yeah?"

"No. But there's something I didn't think I would hear. What else about her?"

"Ummm…well, first her eyes were orange. Then they turned red. Yeah."

"Really? That's the Hachimata breaking out. Our village never did officially seal it in her. Its power can leak out freely, no barriers. I think I've finally found a rival worth my time. I'm going to have fun."

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(K-Chan's Notes: Dun dun dun! Wanna know who the mystery girl is? Can't tell:P Or else I die. But hey, my darling DID appear! For future reference, my darling is Ashi.:) T'will all make sense soon, pretties. And Sasori-danna's coming back! Now Deidara doesn't have to be lonely anymore.X3 Ne, I liked this chapter!)

Dragonfly: weird one…you want to know who it is people? Ask! Want to know how ill end this one , ask! Want to know if ill make a sequel, ask! Want me to kill off K-chans precious, ask!


	13. Chapter 13:Welcome to Konoha

A/N: I'm not grounded! It's a miracle! Behold the thirteenth Chapter.

**Welcome to Konoha**

The four travelers were now leaping through the trees ninja-style at high speed; their leader was in a hurry. Or at least, Naruto thought he was the leader. Occasionally he looked back over his shoulder at Iruka and Kikiru, smiling and giggling to himself (like the genius he is).

"Kikiru-Nee-Chan, you're going to looove Konoha! Ichiraku Ramen is the best. By the way, have you had ramen?" Naruto finally spoke.

"N-no" she stammered as the loud boy lead the foursome through the forests.

"Now Naruto, don't go getting all excited. Calm down," Iruka began.

Naruto smiled as he looked back at the two. "How can I? It's not everyday I meet someone like me."

That nearly made her stop in her tracks. _Someone like me; that's what he said. He has no idea...I'm not like him at all._

"Naruto, what did I tell you about pestering her?" Iruka said sternly.

"Oh…it's ok, really. I don't mind," Kikiru said quietly as the village gates came into view. The three leapt down from the trees and came to a dusty stop outside the gates.

"A-hah! Here it is. The gates of Konoha! Isn't it great?" Naruto said happily as he turned around to face the two.

Kikiru looked up at the gates..."Wow…they're umm…really big."

"Yeah, I know! You should wait till we're inside!" He said as he turned around to face the now slowly opening doors.

"Now Naruto," Iruka said as the three walked in the gates. "Don't get all excited. Take her up to Tsunade's office and get her registered as a visitor here. That's all."

"Fine, fine. I get what you're saying." Naruto pouted.

Iruka turned to the young Sora nin. "I'm sorry if he bothers you, he's really not that bad after you get to know him...I have to leave now. Bye!" He said, walking off.

Naruto stood there waving for a few seconds, then grabbed Kikiru's wrist and raced off through the village at breakneck speed. Yenmai trailed after them, head down. The blonde one was so troublesome.

"Ok, so, I'm going to show you my wonderful village. Its great! And, I'll show you the wonders of ramen," Naruto said as he steered Kikiru around the village by the arm.

"That's really great, you're hurting me." Instantly he let go.

"Sorry Nee-chan!" Naruto said as he spotted a certain pink haired chick whom was striding towards them.

"Naruto," she hissed. "Where have you been?"

"Oh! This is Sakura Haruno. Sakura, meet Kikiru. She's from…erm...Suna! And she's just like me!"

"Just like you?" Sakura asked, confused. Eyeing the girl more closely she noticed the girl had orange eyes. "Oh. Hello!" She said smiling.

"Hi." Kikiru replied shyly. _Naruto...when this is over, I will get you_.

"And how is she just like you?" Yenmai snarled as he finally caught up.

"Because, she has a biju inside her too!" Naruto said happily.

"Which one?" Sakura asked. The girl appeared really shy...not like someone with ultimate powers...but her eyes were hiding something, and that wolf could talk…

"The Hachimata! That makes three of us, yaaay!" Naruto shouted happily.

"Well, if she's from Suna, why is she here?" Sakura asked, hands on her hips.

"Well, she isn't really from Suna; it's a long story. The Akatsuki attempted to take her recently so I decided Konoha was safer," he said smiling.

"Yo," Kakashi said, appearing behind Naruto in a flash of smoke.

"Ah! Kakashi sensei!"

"Naruto. I happened to notice you have a new-"

"Kakashi sensei! Meet Kikiru nee-chan! She has a Biju just like me!" Naruto blurted out.

For once, Kakashi looked surprised. "Oh? Really? Well, you better take her up to Tsunade's right now.

"Oh yeah! Come on Kikiru nee-chan!" He shouted as he dragged her off to Tsunade's.

Sakura sighed. "I feel bad for her." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

----------------------

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto yelled, banging on the Hokage's doors.

"Umm. Naruto-kun, maybe you should-"

"No, it's ok. She's-"

"NARUTO! WHAT IS IT YOU WANT NOW?" A woman's voice thundered from inside.

"I need you to register someone so that they can visit the village!" Naruto yelled.

Jiraiya opened the door and blinked at the 'couple'. His idiot apprentice and...his mouth dropped. "N-Naruto! Who is that?" He asked, pointing over at Kikiru as Shizune appeared at the doorway, Tonton in hands.

"Hello," Kikiru said nervously to the old man.

"Come in," Tsunade ordered.

"Tsunade, meet Kikiru! She's the Hachimata," Naruto said, proud of his new friend.

"Really…why is she here?"

"Because, ma'am," Kikiru said, speaking up for the first time. "In Suna I was attacked by the Akatsuki and Naruto suggested that I come here because it's safer, so I came. Is that ok?" She asked innocently.

"Really? I'm glad you think Konoha is a safe place. Welcome and enjoy your stay," Tsunade said happily.

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"This is going to be sooooooo cool! You and I can stay in the same house and stay up all night eating ramen and watching TV!" Naruto said as he led her out of Tsunade's office.

"Naruto, you do realize that I'm a girl, right? And that I don't really know you, and that I'm younger than you," she said, following him, Yenmai walking protectively in front of her.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" He asked, confused.

"No. Hey, who's that waving to us?" She asked, pointing towards a group of eight, two green blobs standing out.

"Team Gai and Team 10! Come on, I gotta go introduce you to them!" Naruto yelled, dragging her off in their direction.

"Hi everybody! Meet Kikiru! She's from… Suna! Yeah...she's going to stay here for a while, and I'm introducing her to everyone I know to get her… familiar with the area," Naruto explained.

"Really? Well, welcome to Konoha. I'm Asuma, a sensei," Asuma said, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Hope you enjoy your stay. I'm Ino," Ino said smiling.

"This is so troublesome…I'm Shikamaru." (More like such a drag, in English)

"Welcome to Konoha. I'm Tenten," she said, smiling in her bright, cheery way.

"Hello," Neji said, not really caring.

"The food here is really great. I'm Chouji!" Chouji said happily, for once not stuffing his face on the account of the fact that he had just ran out of food.

"Yosh, a new visitor from beyond. May you find peace while witnessing the youthful power of Konoha!" Gai said, smiling in his nice guy pose.

Lee however, was staring at her with a lovey-dovey look, fuzzy eyebrow adorned eyes wide and sparkly. "Kikiru, you're an orange-eyed angel with the beauty to rival Sakura's! I shall protect you with my life!" He proclaimed, doing his best 'nice guy' pose.

"Yosh Lee!" Gai cheered.

Kikiru took several steps away from Lee as Naruto eyed him with that 'don't say another word' look.

"We'll be going now!" Naruto said as the two groups departed. "I'm hungry, are you?"

"A little..."

"Great, let's eat at Ichiraku Ramen!" He yelled, steering her off to yet another place.

----------------------------------------------

"Oi, old man! Ramen please!" Naruto yelled, banging on the desk. The man smiled and began to work

Three people came in and sat down by Kikiru's side; she was too busy petting Yenmai to notice though.

"Oh, Kiba! Hinata! Akamaru! Shino! You guys are here?"

"Oh, Naruto, who's your new friend?" Kiba asked Naruto.

"This is Kikiru, she's from… Suna. And she has a Biju!"

"Do you have to tell everyone that?' Yenmai asked in a tired voice. Kiba's eyes widened.

"He can talk? Where did he learn that?"

"I've known my whole life, stupid," Yenmai replied.

"Looks as if he knows how to insult too," Shino added, making Hinata laugh.

"Welcome to Konoha! Hope you like your stay," Hinata said shyly.

"Hello," Shino said quietly.

"Yo!" Kiba said with an added bark from Akamaru.

As soon as they left, a man with a scar across his nose entered.

"I hope my former student isn't causing you any problems. How is your first day going?" Iruka asked, smiling.

"G-great."

(K-Chan's Notes: yawn Damn I'm tired. Dragonfly, do you realize how many grammar and spelling errors you have? A lot. And I'm allowed ta say that cause I'm your friend. Ugh. My back hurts. Anywho, I love this chapter; it's hilarious!)


	14. Chapter 14: 6 AM in the Morning

A/N: Ermmm... yeah, this one is kinda short…I was bored and the kitchen called to me... I gots chocolate milk!

**6am in the morning**

It had been 6:00am when he had first learned the truth, or at least some of it.

He had been sitting at his desk in his formal living room, reading his work by a single dim lamp. That girl that they had brought back from Sora had been nagging at his mind ever since Naruto took her away two days ago. She was definitely hiding something, that he was certain. But he didn't know what. That's when _they_ came.

The doorbell rang, and a pounding fist followed. "Hey, open up!" A guy's voice yelled.

"Seeficata, have some manners," a man whispered harshly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Dark. My name is DARK! Not some sissy girl name," the one Dark, Gaara assumed, yelled while stopping the pounding.

A polite knock then broke the odd silence. "Excuse me, can you please open the door. We would like to talk to you," a third mans voice spoke calmly.

"You see Seeficata, that's how you knock on someone's door."

"Oh shut up old man," Dark replied.

"What do you want?" Gaara yelled.

"We have reason to believe that this is where our lost comrade was staying," the calm voice called.

"Comrade?" Gaara whispered to himself. "And what is his name?"

"Oh, it's not a he, it's a she. Her name is Kikiru," the calm one replied again.

Gaara's mouth dropped; Nin from Sora. What did they want? "And what do you want with her?"

"Just open the god damn-"

"Dark, you retard! Have patience! Maybe she isn't even here," the calm one said quietly.

Dark's voice changed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Have hope Ichi, we'll find her. I'm sure she isn't angry."

"Then why did she run without telling us?"

"Well…" he said, trying to think up a logic explanation that would placate his friend. "You know how she is."

"Yeah I know…" the calm one, Ichi, replied.

"Well," Gaara said, opening the door. "She isn't here, but I can tell you where she is." He looked around at the three standing on his doorstep. There were three men: two teenagers, and one in his late twenties. One of the boys had dark purple eyes, spiky black hair, and had that 'I'm an idiot' sense around him. The other one was standing calmly, his light blue eyes twinkling merrily. Gaara had the impression of someone trying to look happy, when they were really under a lot of stress. The third one, probably 25, was a man with dark green eyes, and he looked somewhat angry.

"Hi," the one with blue eyes said happily. "So, she isn't here?"

"No…" Gaara said, trailing off. All three were wearing Sora headbands, and they looked as if they had traveled a long way. He frowned slightly, a bout of anger rising: how did people continually get past the guards of the village?

"Well...then, do you know where she is?" The purple-eyed one asked, receiving a glare from what Gaara presumed to be their sensei.

"Yeah, I do. I'll tell you…" he said, and then an idea popped into his head. "But, I'd like you to tell me some things about her."

"Okay, it's a deal," Ichi replied as Gaara ushered them into his house.

-------------------------------

"So," Iruka began as the four were once again sitting outside. "Any plans for your stay here?"

Kikiru looked at him for a second, then back at her bowl. Then she sneezed, and Naruto smiled. "Someone is talking about you somewhere."

"I wouldn't doubt it..." she said quietly, eyes hazy.

"Well?" Iruka said again.

"Well, Naruto told me last night that his team, team #7 lost a member…and, he recommended I go on missions to help out," She twirled her chopsticks in her hand, deep in thought.

"Well, I think that's a good plan," Iruka said smiling.

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A/N: **HI ! I NEED SOME HELP...I'M PLANNING ON HAVING KIKIRU STAY IN KONOHA FOR A WHILE, AND I WANT HER TO GO ON MISSIONS...I NEED YOUR OPINIONS ON SEVERAL TOPICS...DO YOU THINK SHE SHOULD BE A TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT FOR SASUKE? SHOULD SHE TAKE UP NARUTO'S OFFER AND GO ON MISSIONS? IF SO, WITH WHO?** YEAH...I WAS AT A LOSS OF IDEAS...SO NOW, I NEED REVIEWS STATING YOUR OPINIONS! P.S.: THANKS FOR THE 1700 HITS!

(K-Chan's Notes: Dobe. :P This was an interesting chapter; I love Dark! He's our favorite idiot, that he is. Well, him and Naruto. Ichi is funny too…lol. –is remembering a different chapter that Dragonfly wrote- Anywho, now that the plot seems to be thickening a bit more, what do you all think?)


	15. Chapter 15: New Mission

A/N: Shortest chapter ever!

Kyra: You get to go somewhere? Not cool! Oh well…I'll live on my butt at my computer typing up stories while you have fun… I'll try to update a lot this week. Can you believe it, one week into the quarter and this week is progress report…jeez…

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"Okay, first things first, who are you?" Gaara asked as he sat in a chair in front of his couch, where the other three were sitting.

"Well, that's a nice place to begin. I'm Verin, the Sensei of Sora's team #23," the man introduced himself.

"I'm Ichi, I'm the teams Analyst; imagine that," the blue eyed one said, smiling. Gaara eyed him; he reminded him slightly of Naruto, except that this guy's hair was brown.

Ichi's blue-eyed gaze went to the purple-eyed one, who was looking around at the house, gawking at the hugeness of it. "Wow, this place is really big."

Ichi sighed. "And that's Dark, our brilliant strategist and team idiot. He may be stupid now, but you should see him out on the field..."

"Hi!" Dark yelled, smiling.

"Ok… next question. Why are you here?"

"Ummm, well, that's a hard one. You see, we were a team before _they_ split us up after _that_ incident, because a bunch of people died. We had been planning on a way of breaking her out and ditching the village, but there was nowhere to go," Verin explained.

"Okay…interesting. May I ask just what this incident might be?" Gaara asked.

At that, the three looked at each other. Dark looked over at Gaara. "Ummm, well… its kinda really messed up. It involves a failed S-rank mission, several deaths, a failed mission, and a …a… a…" he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

"A what?" Gaara asked.

"Well..."

-----------------

"And today, I'll take you to the place where they held the Chuunin exams!" An excited Naruto practically yelled as he lead the other two through the mostly crowded streets of Konoha.

"Joy," Kikiru said sarcastically. Naruto, being the smart one that we all love, didn't catch the sarcasm (even if he did, he wouldn't know what it was).

"Yeah, I know! I beat Neji there!"

"Speaking of him..." the wolf spoke up as Neji came striding towards them.

"What's up?" Naruto asked casually.

Neji ignored the question. "The Hokage has requested both of your presences in her office, now."

"Yes! Finally, a mission!" Naruto yelled.

"Finally, something to do..." Kikiru whispered as she followed Naruto to the Hokage's office, where Tsunade was waiting.

A/N: Ok, need some help… who should be going? I need at lest two others other than Kikiru. And, maybe even a sensei (anyone who's qualified) and, if you want, a mission idea. I was thinking something along the lines of guarding an emperor or something important that Naruto would like. BTW: you won't believe what tragedies Kikiru has lived through Dragonfly out!(P.S. If you can review it with your opinions and suggestions tonight, I'll work on it and hopefully have the first two chapters done! And I'll make them longer than this one!)

(K-Chan's Notes: -sigh- I don't believe there are any emperors, Dragonfly. Hmmm…I'm tired. Yesh I am. I'm talking to my big bro right now (it's Keenan, Dragonfly:P), and we're having an interesting conversation. I'm also talking to Dragonfly, for that matter…heh. Anywho, someone request Kakashi! She won't listen to me.:( Anywho, hope you enjoyed this chapter! For once, I don't know what's going to happen next…I need to know what the incident is, damnit! Hurry up Dragonfly! Oh, and BTW, to Kyra-san: You are so awesome! You review like, every chapter:3 I think you're Dragonfly's favorite reviewer. Kay then, K-Chan is gonna leave now!)


	16. Chapter 16: Getting There

A/N: yosh! Behold the might of…chapter sixteen! Yeah… K-chan and I are roleplaying the next few chapters. He he.. read on….

Our roleplay:

**Naruto and Kikiru hurried up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Once inside they waited patiently in Tsunade's office until she cared to take notice of them.She glanced up at them. "Well. It's been awhile but I'm assigning you a new mission."**

"**All right! Finally! What kind?" Naruto shouted, jumping up.**

"**An S-rank." Tsunade sighed, handing Kikiru the papers. "It's a mission to the new sound village. They've begun the reconstruction, they no longer have Orochimaru as a Kage so they've elected their own leader and he has made plans on making a treaty with Konoha and the other five leading villages. The mission was originally assigned to just a single team. But since it's a mission involving the place where Sasuke was last spotted, I expected Naruto would find some way to come along."**

"**And me?" Kikiru asked.**

"**Well, I'd like to find out your abilities, so this is your first mission; fail and your record will be ruined in an instant."**

"**Okay. So what exactly are we supposed to do?"**

"**Well, they've requested that we send nin to help out rebuilding the village and help to build a wall around it."**

"**Wow…" Kikiru said, somewhat speechless.**

"**Who is the rest of the team?" Naruto asked as the door knocked.**

"**Come in!" Tsunade called as Hinata, Kiba, Jiraiya, and Shino came in.**

"Hey!" Kiba yelled cheerfully, walking ahead of his teammates.

"Um…hi," Hinata said shyly, a light smile on her face, as well as a slight blush as seeing Naruto.

"Hello," Shino said in a tone-less voice, hands deep in his pockets.

"Hey everyone," Jiraiya greeted. "Are you all ready for the mission?"

"**Yeah…sure..." Kikiru whispered, eyeing the team. Personally, she preferred her own team, but they didn't know about that….**

"**All right!" Naruto yelled, following the rest outside.**

"**Okay everyone. I'll give you ten minutes to get ready, then we'll be off" Jiraiya announced as the five went off in there own separate ways**

**-------------------------**

"**Wow, is that all you're going to bring?" Naruto asked as the three walked to the village gates.**

"**That cylinder thing holds more than you think, boy." Yenmai commented.**

"**Really?" He asked, eyeing the container strapped to Kikiru's back.**

"**Yes...I got it from a…my family when I was little." Kikiru coming up with a quick answer.**

"**Hey there they are!" Naruto yelled, running forward towards the others. Kikiru sighed and hurried after him.**

All three chuunin were carrying large backpacks filled with the supplies they needed, and so was Jiraiya.

"Got all your things?" The old man asked, looking skeptically at Kikiru's cylinder. Akamaru barked, and Kiba rubbed his head affectionately.

"We're all set," he said, grinning. "The whole team."

"Naruto? Kikiru? What about you two?" Jiraiya asked.

"**Yeah. We're all...all set," Kikiru said, trailing off a bit.**

**Naruto looked at her and sighed, he was used to her trailing off...she was probably hiding something… but it was none of his business. He smiled as the group set off.**

**-----------------------------------------------**

"So how far away is Oto again?" Kiba asked, his arms resting behind his head as they walked along. It had been almost a day since they'd first set out,

"Far enough," Jiraiya answered, hardly showing any signs of exhaustion.

"You alright, Kikiru?" Kiba asked, turning to look at the blonde girl.

**"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She said looking up. She had been spacing out; after all, there wasn't really much to do. "How much longer til we get there?"**

**Shino grit his teeth. It was his most hated question: how much longer til we get there? He remembered the mission he went on with Naruto; he had been asking that question by the second. It angered him.**

"Well, are we getting any closer?" Kiba asked, looking at Jiraiya curiously. Jiraiya sighed in annoyance.

"Yes, we're getting closer, but it's nighttime now; we may as well set up camp," he said. He settled himself by a tree, setting his pack down beside it and taking out his writing materials; he was going to work on the next volume of his Icha Icha series. Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he said, choosing his own spot relatively close. Shino did the same without any complaints, as did Hinata.

**"Kay," Kikiru said as she chose a place in the nook of a base of a tree. Yenmai followed her and sat patiently by her side as she pulled out (Naruto's eyes widened), a sleeping bag.**

**"Yeah!" Naruto said enthusiastically as he chose a spot in between her and Team #8.**

"Goodnight everyone," Hinata said, pulling up her sleeping bag. Shino and Kiba both said goodnight back, and the camp became silent as they all fell asleep.

--------

"Ummm…Naruto-kun….Kikiru-san…it's time to wake up," Hinata said, rolling up her sleeping back. "Kiba-kun…"

Shino, who was already awake and packed, was standing calmly by a tree, Jiraiya right beside him.

"I'm awake…" Kiba yawned, stretching, Akamaru hopping off of him with a small 'yip'!

**"Fine…good morning." Kikiru said, sitting up. Yenmai's head appeared from inside her sleeping bag, he yawned and climbed out.**

**"Odd way to start off the day, what time is it?" he asked.**

**"Ummm… it's six." Kikiru replied, looking up at the sun's position.**

**"Yes! A start to a new day!" Naruto said, jumping up, full of energy.**

**"Wow, so here it is, Otogakure. Kikiru said as the six stood there, awed by the massive size of the outer wall. She looked over at Jiraiya. "I thought you id it wasn't finished.  
"Its not." He replied, not looking at her, his eyes were focused on a large pink sign showing a woman. His mouth watered.**

**Naruto looked him and sighed. "Ero-sennin." He muttered as the gates opened and the group went in.**

**A/N: hi again… took us forever to write this up… well, us (including K-chan and a few of our choice minions) g to the Arizona anime convention next week yaay! Well, I'm going to take my video camera and tape some of it, then put it up on the web…I'll give you the link later…**

**Ermmm…. Sorry, the next few chapters will take awhile to write.. if you don't like our roleplay, then complain and I shall go back to the original… I'm going to change the title of the Fanfic to Hachimata. I'm already working on the second in my series of fics, and it shall be called Love Gaara? Because it would make more sense…. the first few chapters are soo sad… made me laugh. (btw: if I laugh at something that's sad, it's normally really good, I don't have any emotions really doctors aren't sure what's wrong with me) oooh!**

**Kyra: I'll get around to reading your fanfic that you have 1111 odd hits… I'm too lazy to do it now… sigh…yeah! Ummm… read our other wonderful fanfics people! They are funny and some are sad! Ooh and leave reviews on them!**

**Dragonfly out.. (bold is my posts!)**


	17. Chapter 17: Inn

**A/N: hi people! This took a week to do…bleh, we're pathetic... heh heh heh! I'm listening to a Naruto CD that K-chan burned off the internet or something… hah! It would've been done a bit sooner tonight, but I was too busy torturing K-Chan in the torture chamber for pairing certain couples… then we ate ramen and returned to our normal Lee-Gai selves. Yes, we do act youthful on our free time because we're ummm… what's that word again? My brain forgot…**

**K-Chan: Uh….what? Sorry, my mind's not all here right now.:) Freakin Dragonfly was hitting me and poking me with her claws/nails for mentioning GaaLee…anyways! Dragonfly's thinking of killing off Ichi-kun:( This saddens me, so please tell her not to! She won't listen to me…she NEVER DOES. And I'm also watching Final Fantasy: Unlimited, episode 18, so I'm even more sad.:( Poor Mankenshi-chan….huh? Oh right, the roleplay. This was fun…and obviously, the non-bold stuff is mine. I like Team 8.:) Though you wouldn't be able to tell from my other fic…-sweatdrop- Anywho, goodnight/morning/afternoon lovely reviewers! See you all later!**

**Behold! The power of youth brings you Chapter !7: **

**"Hello," a man said to the group as he appeared from a guard tower on the other side of the wall. "My name is Kouji. I'll be your helper during your stay at the village. I'll be the one who tells you your numerous tasks and duties"**

**"Duties? Tasks? Numerous? You mean we have to work?" Naruto shouted.**

**"Yes, oh great subordinate of mine, you're here to help rebuild and improve the village, what did you think that meant?" Jiraiya said, stooping down to Naruto's level.**

**"Umm, I didn't really think about it actually..." Naruto trailed off.**

**"Well, I can see we have several geniuses in this group," the man said, smiling in a somewhat creepy way.**

"Okay, so what do we do first?" Kiba asked, slightly annoyed.

**"Well I would assume you would first like to drop off your belongings at the place where you'll be staying. Am I right?" The man said, still smiling in that odd way. He starting walking off in the direction of an inn, indicating that they should follow. **

**Jiraiya sighed and the group followed the man. _I was really hoping I could sneak around the village looking for bath houses, _Jiraiya thought sadly.**

Team 8 followed Kouji, Kiba in front, then Shino, and then Hinata.

"Um, what was...what was it like in your village, Kikiru-san?" Hinata asked. Normally, she didn't initiate much conversation, but for once she felt somewhat incomfortable with the silence. Besides, she wanted to become a little more outgoing. "Is Konoha like...Suna, at all?"

**She sighed as she looked over at Hinata. "Well, for starters my home village is Soragakure, not Suna. But, Suna does have the same kind of foundation." She paused. "But Sora is on a whole different level."**

"S-Soragakure?" Hinata questioned. "I've never heard of that village...and what do you mean by different levels?"

"**Well…" She said, pausing for thought. "It's like this. Your village school standards are under ours by a mile. Konoha only requires the basics to be a Genin, as far as I know. Sora, on the other hand-" She laughed. "You're required to kill at least one of your classmates, attack small villages, kill innocents and many other things that are better left unsaid," she finished, smiling**.

Hinata's eyes widened in horror. "K-Kill a classmate?" She looked at Naruto, and closed her eyes as she shivered. She could never, ever imagine trying to kill him. "B-But isn't that too harsh?"   
"Not quite," Jiraiya said gravely. "Killing people and occasionally attacking villages is a part of being a ninja. It doesn't surprise me that some villages do that."

"**So, you mean your village really doesn't make you kill each other? Wow…that's pathetic." Kikiru sighed. _And I had thought my life was tough. Jeez, I imagine it'll be hard for them if they actually get involved in wars. The white-eyed girl is already shaking at the thought of killing a classmate. If you think about it, it's not that bad. I wonder what she would think if I told her about one of my last assignme….I'm not going to think about what happened to put me into that damned cage… All away in the darkness…all alone. _She paused in midstride, just as the group stopped outside the inn.**

"**Well," the man said, smiling at them in his eerie way that made the hair on the back of her skin stand up, "We're here." He then continued on, leading them in.**

Hinata looked down sadly. "That is really…horrible. I'm sorry that you had to do that, Kikiru-san."

"Yeah! I mean, killing a classmate would be…" Kiba shuddered.

"So, how many rooms do we have?" Jiraiya asked. "And do you have any hot springs around here…?"

"Ero-sennin! Don't get any ideas!" Naruto said heatedly.

"**It's okay. It's hard to have feelings for people like…people like that," she finished hurriedly. "So, how many rooms do we have?"**

"**Well, you'll have three rooms," he said, handing Jiraiya a scroll. "You'll need that for later, if you want to do anything outsides the lines of this mission." (BTW doesn't mean for perverted ways but…)**

"**Understood. Let's go you guys," Jiraiya said, leading them upstairs with a smile on his face telling of dirty thoughts.**

"Which room d'you want, Hinata?" Kiba asked, looking at his teammate.

"Um…any room is fine with me, as long as Kikiru-san is okay with it," Hinata said.

"Well then, what room does Kikiru want?" Kiba asked, looking at the blonde girl with a lazy smile.

"**I really don't care...the one on the far left I guess," she said in a non-caring tone as she walked into the room, Yenmai at her heels.**

"Kay. We'll go in this one, right bug freak?" Kiba said in a joking manner.

"Alright then," Shino said, un-amused. Kiba rolled his eyes, and the two walked into their room.

"Well, goodnight Hinata-chan, Kikiru-nee-chan," Naruto said cheerfully, making sure that the last part was loud enough for Kikiru to her from her room.

"Um, goodnight Naruto-kun," Hinata said, blushing as she walked into the room she shared with the Sora nin. Hinata looked at her temporary roommate with a slight smile. "So…Kikiru-san, did you ever have a team…?"

"**Yeah…technically I still do. Lets see," she said in a pause as she flopped down on one of the beds. "First we have Ichi, he's the teams medic nin. He's pretty nice, if a little odd at times. But he's really polite, like you. Then, there's-"**

"**The idiot. I despise him," the one-eyed wolf growled.**

"**Let me finish. The second one is Dark. He's the team analyzer and strategist. But he acts like a total idiot out of battle; and another thing. He's my older brother. Then, there's Verin. He's our sensei; he has a really low tolerance level. Dark used to get in trouble with him all the time. Verin is twenty seven, Ichi is seventeen, Dark is sixteen, and I'm fourteen. Such an age difference huh?" She finished, smiling.**

Hinata smiled. "Yes…Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and I are all the same age, so I never had to worry about my teammates being older than me."

"**That must be nice…" She whispered, a memory coming to mind before her eyes; the room disappeared and a new one took place. **

**------------------**

**This one of a school room full of children, a teacher standing in front of the class, clipboard in hand and a slight frown on his face as he looked around at his loud class.**

"**Okay class, settle down. The day has finally come when I have to separate you into groups of three," the teacher said from the front of the class.**

**He smiled as he looked up at the rows of his precious children; this was, by far, his best taught class. They were all perfect for the exams that would take place next fall, but for now they would have to settle with doing missions for the village. He loved them all: from the idiot of the class to the village demon, they were all perfectly trained to his standards.**

**And so he began with the list, calling out names and separating his students off into groups of three, telling them which class to wait in for their sensei. **

**Kikiru sat at the very back of the class in the top row, alone as always. Her bandaged thumb fondled her newly earned headband, the sign of the yin-yang representing good and evil. Had it been worth it? Training for them, doing what they wanted? Her orange eyes traveled over to the window where a bird, a swallow, flew past, twittering and minding its own business, not a care in the world. Free. Free. Free. Free. Free. She sighed and returned her eyes to her side, where curled up at her feet was her one-eyed wolf, Yenmai. He had always been with her, growing tougher over the years, going from a little pup licking up chocolate ice cream to leaping onto enemies and ripping out their throats, drinking their life-blood still warm from its trip from the heart. And she herself had gone from being a sweet little girl depending off her older sisters to survive, to what she was today: a shinobi.**

**"And for team #23, we have Miss Kikiru." He paused as her orange eyes looked down at him, and he gulped. He hated her eyes; they weren't human, she wasn't human. And to even think that he was in the same room with it… "Then there is Ichi." A brown-haired boy looked back towards the girl and flashed her a smile; she blinked once. **

**_Good. If there's anyone who can handle her, it's Ichi. _ "And the last person to be put in the team is…" He smiled. "Seeficata."**

**Instantly, the purple-eyed boy jumped up. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU PEOPLE? MY NAME IS Dark! D-A-R-K!" He shrieked, sending the class into fits of laughter.**

**Even Kikiru smiled slightly._ Good, she needs one to teach her how to laugh. That'll be something different for her. _"Yes, Dark, it was meant as a last minute joke." He smiled.**

**------**

Hinata frowned at the distant look on Kikiru's face, worried. "A-Are you alright, Kikiru-san?"

**She blinked several times. "Huh? What? Oh, yeah...I'm fine, just remembering something that happened, that's all," she replied**.

"What were you remembering?" Hinata asked, tilting her head as she leaned back against her bed frame.

"**My last day at the academy at Sora… when we got assigned teams. I had almost forgotten how it had gone… I didn't remember being so...un-me," she said thinking back to the flashback.**

"Oh…" Hinata said quietly. "Well…are you ready to go to sleep, Kikiru-san?"

"**Yeah, why not," she said, smiling as she laid down, Yenmai curling up at her feet, yellow eye never leaving the door.**

**A/N: next, Lee and Gai…and some other stuff io don't feel like mentioing.**


	18. Chapter 18: Morning

Morning

"Well, she's possessed by the Hachimata. Did she tell you that?" Dark asked, purple eyes looking into the light blue ones of the Kazekage.

"Eight tails… yeah, she told me. What does that have to do with it?" he asked, not catching on.

"Well, she…I'm guessing she had a flashback of her childhood, its pretty screwed up or so I'm told, and she passed out. The Hachimata…got out..." Ichi informed him.

"She's unstable in the mind and even the slightest thing could set her off, or rather _it_." Verin added.

Gaara sat back. "Well that's just great."

"Why?" the three asked at the same time.

"Well, currently she's on a mission to Oto and is going to be working with people. "

"Oh great." Ichi commented sarcastically as he sat back.

The next morning, Hinata woke up with a small yawn. She looked over to the other bed and saw that Kikiru was still asleep, so she quietly got out and changed.

**Tangerine eyes opened as soon as Hinata left the room. It was easy to feign sleep; she had been doing it since she was four and a half.**

**"Hmm, what to do today?" she mused as she glanced around at the room. Her eyes picked out that the wolf had left sometime during the night. She yawned slightly as her mind slowly went to work on several plans for the day. All, once thought on were discarded; all involved ditching and being lazy. She had to help out with the 'volunteer' work; after all she really wasn't a part of Konoha so she didn't have to go on missions. On the other hand, laying around and not doing anything would earn her a bad reputation..**

Hinata went and quietly knocked on Kiba and Shino's door.

"Kiba-Kun? Shino-Kun? Are you awake?" she whispered.

Shino opened the door a few seconds later, fully dressed and ready. Kiba, however, was just getting up. **"We'll be ready in a bit." He replied.**

**"Oh, ok." Hinata replied as she left and went back to her room to find the orange eyed girl lying dressed on the bed stretched out staring up at the ceiling.**

**"Umm, Kikiru-san, are you ok?" Hinata asked in a quiet voice.**

**Kikiru sat up and looked around in a daze. "Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Is our 'instructor here yet?"**

**"No."**

**"Is everyone awake?"**

**"I haven't checked on Jiraiya-sensei and Naruto-kun yet. I'll go check on them now." Hinata offered as she turned and left the room.**

**"You do that." Kikiru replied as she stood up and stretched.**

**Hinata paused down the hall outside Naruto And Jiraiya's room, it was oddly quiet. She lifted a tentative hand and knocked the door a few times. "Naruto-kun? Jiraiya-sensei?" she called quietly.**

**Her answer was of something hard hitting the floor and a muffled 'oww' from Naruto.**

**"Naruto-kun, are you ok?" she asked worriedly.**

**"My eyes! I have gone- oh, I can see again!" Naruto yelled from the other side of the locked door as he untangled himself from the sheets.**

**"Umm, is Jiraiya in there?" she asked quietly, nervous.**

**"Ummm-No! That dirty Ero-Sennin probably went to the bath houses or something. Hey, there's a sheet of paper under the door."**

**"Really?" Hinata said as she looked down at her feet. Sure enough, a letter was stuck under the bed. She picked it up and opened it as Shino, Kiba, and Kikiru joined her.**

A/N: this is a call for celebration! I ave returned! Sorry for the super delay, I was…busy, yeah that's it…. In about a week I'm going to Catalina, but you don't care. And this month is my birthday month, another thing you don't care about. Plus, I've finally started on a novel idea Called Welcome to Reality. I posted the first two chapters up on FictionPress under the name Dragonfly of Death

**_Thanks for the 45 reviews and the 4400 hits!_**


	19. Chapter 19: Jobs

Dear subordinates:

I have gone away to find information on the village. Don't expect me back any time soon, I'll be very busy and I would enjoy it if you didn't hunt me down. Kouji-sama should come by to tell you your duties by eight o'clock. I trust you won't screw this up.

Sensei,

Jiraiya.

"why that no good bastard!" Naruto yelled.

"N-Naruto kun!" Hinata said fearfully, looking at him.

"You shouldn't talk that way about one of the great three." Shino warned. "Kiba, what time is it?"

"It's eight."

Kikiru sighed. "Then he's late."

"Were you looking for me?" a familiar voice asked as the three turned around to face a smiling Kouji. "I have your tasks all set."

"Oh joy." Kikiru commented.

"Yes, very joyful. The three of you gentlemen, shall be working with the other Konoha Nin that have courteously offered their help in rebuilding the village. And you two, shall be helping out at the Ninja Academy." He informed them.

"Academy?" Kikiru questioned before Hinata could ask.

"Yes, academy. You'll be helping out with the teachings. I thought you'd enjoy it more than helping out felling trees."

"Whaaat?" Naruto yelled.

"Hmmm, you've got a point." Kikiru replied.

"Wow. They're all so… small… I don't remember being this small." Kikiru said looking around at all the children.

Hinata was half hiding behind her as she whispered "they're all staring at us."

"so, stare at them back. Better yet, glare at them."

­

"f-fuzzy eyebrows?" Naruto whispered as they stood in the tree grove.

"hello Naruto-Kun!" Lee yelled from across the clearing.

"is this not a youthful morning fit enough for the Beautiful green beasts?" Gai yelled.

"yosh Gai-sensei!"

"I think I'm going to hurl…."Kiba said as he watched the twosome fell trees with one swipe of their mighty fists.

Neji glared at them all muttering something incoherent.

"Today class, we'll be getting help from the two nin from Konoha. are they any questions you'd like to ask them?" the teacher called as the two stood by his desk.

Kikiru's mind mentally screamed _I hate you all_ as every single hand in the classroom rose and a wave of stupid questions burst forth.

A/N: ok, hiyas, my b-day is on the 26 (the last day of school for us) for those who were wondering.

Here's the story. I got back from a long, exhausting walk home to find new things on Hachimata. First, I looked at the hits which there were 5187 of, so I was like 'yosh!'. Then, I went up and read through all 47 reviews, new and all, and went squee Yay, I'm going to write a new chapter for the deserving readers. Then I went over to the faves and I had 11 same. Then I checked the alert list and noticed I was missing one, but that was ok. Because I saw my story was on 2 c2s, so I was like 'squee x bahmillion'. Naturally, I had to check them out, So I did. The first one was a group of well written ones so I said 'yay, someone really likes my story!' and was uber happy. Then, I looked up the second one which was labeled 'of sand and fire' so I thought it was about the Suna village and Konoha. It isn't. Its about the yaoi pairing GaaraxNaruto. No. no no no! I hate that pairing! My story is not! About that couple hissssss!...so then my mind gathered either the person just liked it, or thought it was about Naruto and eugh, Gaara getting it on. Let me tell ya folks: its not. … K-Chan threatened to write a fanfic bout the couple, I gave her my death glare and threatened to kill her…

Review and thanks for the 5000 something hits!


	20. Chapter 20: Arguements

All five nin were sprawled out on the cool floors of Naruto's and Jiraiya's room (it being the biggest) there were tired from a day of hard work.

The first thing was said by Kikiru. "I. Hate. Kids."

Hinata frowned. "Why did they have so many questions?"

"And they were all stupid."

"Well be happy that you didn't have to spend a day with fuzzy eyebrows." Naruto commented.

"Yosh." Kiba replied.

"Arf! Arf!" Akamaru agreed.

"I wonder how long we'll have to do this." Shino asked the question that had been on their minds from his spot against the wall.

"I never thought answering questions would be so…" Hinata cut off.

"Tiring." Kikiru finished.

"Oh yeah, you two got nothing. We had to spend a day cutting and hauling trees. Try that for hard." Naruto combated.

"Yosh." Kiba added, raising a tired fist into the air.

"Well I'm glad to hear you all had a good time. You'll be doing this daily for the next week." Kouji said smiling from the doorway.

"WHAT?" the five replied all shooting off arguments.

"I'm not spending another day with _those two_."

"Ummm, couldn't we do something else."

"If I have to spend _another_ day with them…"

"I think I even got a splinter from hauling trees."

"Arf! Arf!"

"Yosh! You tell him Akamaru sensei!"

"Great, now Kiba's lost it."

"All of my clones are tired!"

"Now, now. I thought that Konoha Nin were strong and determined, full of energy, never giving up till the end." Kouji interrupted.

"I'm not a Konoha nin… I'm a Sora nin."

"Well, Ninja are supposed to be ready for _anything_."

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." She said getting up.

"That's good; you should all get a good nights sleep." Kouji said smiling happily.

A/N: Yaaay! Back on track…darn, I'm out of ideas, K-Chans grounded…so am I, but that's not the point…hah! Kiba got brainwashed by the uber-youthful Lee and Gai. I guess I'll write what they actually do instead of skipping it. Don't worry, the next chapter is probably going to be the last for this mission.


	21. Chapter 21

"Umm, Kikiru-San, are you ok?" Hinata asked her newfound friend. Instead of getting on her nerves, Kikiru was starting to worry her.

Instantly she snapped back to reality. Orange eyes blinked in the fierce morning sun as the children made failed attempts to muffle their sniggers.

"ok…. Can anyone tell me what this is used for?" Kikiru asked nicely, holding up a shuriken.

One of the bratty kids in the back stuck up his hand and yelled out without being called on. "Well no duh stupid, that's a shuriken. _We_ ninjas use them during combat. Only an _idiot_ wouldn't know that."

"Well, lets see if you know how to _dodge one!_" Kikiru shrieked as she threw the shuriken at the child.

He dodged it without even looking, a smug smile on his face. "Some ninja _you_ are. Jeez, you're such a id-" he cut off with a muffled howl of pain as the now-flaming shuriken whizzed straight through his torso, bowels and blood cascaded down his front as he screamed in pain. Maniacal laughter sounded as the child died.

"Kikiru-san! Kikiru-San!" Hinata cried. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked.

"Huh?" Kikiru asked in a daze, wearing a slight frown as the image disappeared. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just fine." She replied, plastering a fake smile on her face as she looked at all the children. The one kid backed away, the look that had been in her eyes a second ago made him feel uncomfortable.

- - -

"Gatsuuga!" Kiba yelled as Akamaru and him cut through the base of the final tree.

Several Naruto picked up the tree the instant the dust settled, and carried it downhill to where Lee, Gai, Neji, and Shino waited.

Neji then scanned the tree with his Byakugan for termites and the like. Shino then sent his Kikai in to exterminate and drag out the unwanted bugs.

Lee and Gai then 'youthfully' cut the branches off the tree with their 'manly muscles'.

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled joyfully, spreading his arms out and jumping into the sky.

"finally." Kiba said sighing as Akamaru barked happily.

"yosh Gai-Sensei! We have walked further down the path of youth!" Lee yelled happily.

A/N:

thoughts race past

how long can this last?

This writers block I have,

Its making me so sad.

The story won't come,

And I sit, dull and glum.

He-he! A poem by me, dedicated to writers block!

Well, I'll be gone for the next three days. Off to Catalina I go….leave reviews so I can read them when I get back….if, I get back… the ocean is a dangerous place…I could…drown!Zomg!11 eleventy-eleven!

Sorry, this was really short…


	22. Chapter 22: Return

"So, how was the mission? Did you enjoy it?" Jiraiya asked the five younger nin as the village gates of Konoha swam into view.

"_That_ was a mission?" Kikiru asked in disbelief.

"I-It was o-okay…" Hinata stuttered.

"Yeah, it was **OK**." Kiba repeated. "So, what were _you_ doing?" he asked accusingly.

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head smiling nervously. "Heh-heh-heh. There's a funny story to that-"

"You were in the bath houses!" Naruto yelled, pointing at him.

"NO! I was…gathering Information!" the old man combated.

"Sure you were." Kikiru said sarcastically. "And we were retrieving a lost scroll to an important village."

Jiraiya stopped and looked at them. "Really? I… didn't know. Well… how hard was it, did you encounter any trouble?" he asked in a serious tone.

Five faces turned from a look of tiredness to one of shock that was then replaced with anger.

"Are you serious?"

"I was being sarcastic!"

"_Ero-Sennin…_"

"N-Naruto K-kun…"

"You didn't Know?"

"Well, I'm glad to hear it was a success." Tsunade sad smiling as she looked at the five nin, Jiraiya having to leave for his 'info gathering'. "You may leave now."

The five headed towards the door, ready for a nice warm shower and a night in their own beds.

"Kikiru, I need to tell you something." Tsunade asked.

Kikiru stopped and looked back at her. "Yes?" she asked in an innocent tone.

Hinata glanced at her friend as she headed out the door. Naruto made a motion to protest but was rushed out the door by Shizune.

Orange eyes narrowed. "What did you want?" she asked.

"Well, while you were away on the mission… the Kazekage came and asked for you." Tsunade informed her.

"Why? What did he want?"

"Why don't you ask him."

"He's here?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Yes. And he wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh…ok. Where is he?" she asked tentatively.

"He's in the downstairs waiting room." Tsunade replied.

"You wanted me?" she asked as the door closed behind her.

He looked at her, face masking his emotions. "Yeah. Um… you're family came and they wanted to know where you were."

Turquoise eyes narrowed as he watched her tense. "Family?"

"Yeah… what were their names?….umm…..I think one was Ichi.. And the other two were Verin, and a Dark…."

He watched her relaxed and give a short laugh. "Family? They aren't my family. The only one that's actually blood related to me is Seeficata.

"Oh." _Well the way they were talking about her I thought they were. I thought for sure the man was her father._

"He isn't." he eyes looked down. "But sometimes I wonder if that's what they're like."

He blinked, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Why… why did you think Ichi was related to me?"

"Well, the way he talked about you…"

"Oh… where are they?" she changed the subject, firmly shoving the subject of Ichi aside.

Orange eyes met blue as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. The tension between the two was so heavy it was almost visible.

It was almost silent except for the low whimpering coming from Dark who was being held back by Verin. Vein himself wanted to run up to her and make sure she was fine, but they weren't little kids anymore and they needed to deal with things by himself, he respected that.

Tears welled up in Ichi's eyes, bottom lip trembled. Kikiru watched him with no expression, as always.

It had a year since he had last seen her, maybe even longer. He couldn't remember.

The only thing he did remember, was her tears.

A/N: oooh! Cliffhanger! Gotta love 'em. Next chapter is flashback.

REVIEW!


	23. Chapter 23: Flasherback

Flasherback

It had only been a kiss. A single, simple, harmless kiss.

That one kiss had ended the friendship that had taken so long to build. It was hard work befriending a demon.

Of course, it had been a forced kiss. And had hurt the one being forced into it.

Wind roared in his ears as the rain pounded the top of his head from the heavens above. Each strike seemed to be a scolding strike from a parent, _bad boy, you never ever do that!_

He was stupid, really stupid._ Note to self: don't force a girl._

But, I hadn't meant it to hurt, didn't that make it ok?

_But you knew she wasn't going to like it._

But, all I wanted was to know…

Curiosity killed the cat… 

Shut up! I hate you, I hate everything! I hate me…

_Do you hate her?_

**_No._**

_Why not? She's the one who broke your heart._

Because…

_Because?_

Because…it isn't her fault. It's mine. I was the greedy one, the one who couldn't wait for relationships to form. I lost a friend. No, someone better than a friend…

_Now what are you going to do?_

I want to die.

The words hurtdeep inside_. She didn't love him, she never did._

_Thinking suicidal…_

She, in her own mind, was a monster. He was a human to her, one of her few friends worthy of her trust. She had been raised to have no emotion. She was to put others needs and desires before her own.

He would never reach her through that thick shell that had encased her heart over the years. The closest thing to her, was friendship. He had just lost it.

He turned his back to her apartment and starting walking off into the rain. Her apartment was right next to the village wall. He was up on it. There was a break in the wall, opening up to a drop of over a hundred feet ending at the bottom with jagged rocks to keep invaders out. He was heading straight towards it.

She didn't love him, she never did.

And never would.

It had been an hour. He had been sitting at the bottom of the cliff bleeding for an hour. Why did everything go wrong for him? Now he was suffer a lot before he died. Life was too much.

It got worse.

"Owwww! My head…" A voice called from not to far away. It was Dark. Recently, he's been having problems with sleep walking. But, how he had managed to sleepwalk out of his house and outside the outer village gates, was beyond Ichi. "It hurts. The pain, ZE PAIIIIINNNNEEEE!" the idiot suddenly yelled.

Ichi sighed. His life was going waaaay downhill: first, there was the loss of his 'lovers' friendship; then, there was Verin and Dark screaming their heads off at him; then, there was the attempted suicide that _just had to_ go wrong; now, the idiot found him.

"Heeeey, I know you." Dark said slowly, pointing down at Ichi's somewhat still figure. "You're um…"

"Ichi…" he managed to whisper.

"Yeah!…I think I hit my head too- hey! You're bleeding!" the genius finally pointed out, _finally_.

"Just go away…."

"Hey! Ichi wouldn't talk to me like that! I…." For one of the few times, the idiot thought with out going into his 'super smart' mode. "I must be seeing things again.. I mean, why would I find Ichi at the bottom of a cliff sliced open and bleeding to death? It's completely illogical. You have to think of the facts, Ichi is smart and thinks before acting. Suicide in his position would be stupid. Another thing, I _know _Ichi. He wouldn't want to die in a ditch. Why I remember when we were kids how we used to talk about how we would die, Ichi always replied 'dying in battle heroically while protecting the one I love'. So, you're not Ichi…. Hmmm, hungry…" up, it was over. Back to stupidity Dark went.

Ichi bit his bottom lip to stop from crying. He hated Dark for that.

"I think I'll go tell Kik about this… then I'll ask her for milk and cookies!" And before Ichi could try and stop him, the idiot was gone.

Ichi felt tears stream down his face, he was so _stupid!_ He brought his head up and brought it down sharply, intending on ending it.

Darkness engulfed him.

a sharp scream sounded somewhere above. "I-Ichi, oh my god Ichi, are you there?" a voice pleaded, no, Kikiru's voice pleaded. He was almost out of it: energy, strength, blood.

"You can see him too?" Darks voice asked from behind her. I could only have way open my eyes. They deceived me.

It was raining, she wasn't crying for me, was she?

"oh my god he's still alive, Ichi, please don't die. Please…" the pleading tone in her voice broke his heart. He probably would die, he couldn't even feel her shaking hand caressing his cheek, but he knew it was there from the short glimpses he caught of it.

"Will he be ok?" Dark asked, slowly coming to realize this wasn't a hallucination.

"I don't know Dark." She replied, voice shaking, the rain still fell. But, it was only falling on his face. Funny, her face was suspended over his, and her eyes were kinda red.

"Can you find out, please? I don-"

"Dark, shut up for once." She yelled at him. _Yelled at the sweet idiot that meant so much to her. Never, she had never even raised her voice at him, and here she was practically screaming at him._ Ichi's mind was utterly confused. "Just…go find Verin and tell him that Ichi's in danger….." the world was starting to fade.

He came with one conclusion: he. Loved. Heaven.

a few weeks later he had woken up in a hospital bed. He hadn't been in heaven. But, she wasn't there. She was, as Verin explained, on a mission that would end in disaster.

End of Flasherback mode

"Kikiru…" Ichi whispered, tears fell as the orange eyes stared at him, empty of expression.

A slight smile met her lips. "Hey now, don't cry. I'm back. And you're in one piece." She said softly. The last part got a chuckle from Ichi, who wiped a few stray tears from his eyes.

"You guys ok now?" Verin asked, still holding Dark back.

"Yeah, I think so." Ichi said giving a sniff.

"Yaaay!" Dark yelled running to them as he pulled them into a hug. " Best friends forever!" Ichi let out a small laugh.

And another one as Kikiru's fist connected with the side of Darks face, she wasn't one to be hugged.

A/N: I…just read a fic that made me cry…. Hi! How was the flasherback? Tell me! I think it was good….. ok, next chapter gets interesting. It involves Akatsuki attacking! And I have a lovely title for it: Just Another Day In Konoha.


	24. Chapter 24

It had been a week since the mission to Oto. Tsunade had Given Kikiru an Apartment to stay in (she secretly told her that Naruto annoyed her).

**Ding-Dong!** The doorbell rang three more times before stopping, an uncomfortable silence outside the door followed.

Orange eyes blinked tiredly, she had just finished getting dressed and she had just sat down for a bite to eat, when the doorbell rang. "How convenient." She mumbled to herself. She glanced at the clock by her bedside, 6:20 am, she hadn't even been up half an hour. Something told her this wasn't her day.

The doorbell rang again, signaling that the person out side was losing their patience. "I'm coming!" she yelled standing up and walking to the door.

It happened in a flash. The door swung in and a fist swung towards her, missing by an inch as she took a step fast, inwardly thanking her speed.

"Shit." One of the two men whispered. The one who woke was dressed in what she registered as an Akatsuki cloak, with black and white skin and a…. Venus fly trap on his head? The other was dressed in all black, a white swirl mask on his face.

Her eyes caught the glint of a medic needle in the masked one's hand. Her mind formed an educated guess as to what their plan had been. The blow was meant to slam her against the door, stunning her, then they would've injected whatever was in that needle into her.

She suddenly realized that at the very least she would need to get out of the Apartment complex. She had an impossible time fighting in small spaces, plus, she might even have to use _that_ jutsu, and she didn't want to cut anyone up.

"What do we do now, Zetsu-San?" the smaller one asked.

"Be quiet Tobi." The plant-man replied. Her eyes never left his face as she tentatively took a step back. He moved forward in an instant, she was faster.

A scramble began, she turned tail, heading for the bathroom, pausing as Zetsu caught up with her, her hand caught a chair. In one fluid motion, she picked it up, twirled and hit it hard at his rib cage. She smiled as she heard a resounding crack. Tobi ran in and slid on the rug-covered tile floor, sliding into a glass cabinet, glass crashing everywhere. That gave her an idea, instead of locking herself in the bathroom and contacting somebody, she'd smash through the window in the bedroom.

Zetsu watched her eyes dart towards the window and yelled. "Tobi, the windo-" she ran past him, he staggered past her, but he was too slow.

She took a running start and crashed through the window, wincing as the glass cut into her exposed arms and face.

That when she noticed, she was on the fourth floor.

She thanked the lord as she landed safely and dashed off through the town. Several times she glanced over her shoulder, she wasn't being followed. But she could feel someone watching, It was unnerving. She stopped in an empty alleyway, the streets had been almost empty, she had only ran into eight people.

A slight smile lit up her face as she caught her breath.

Her blood turned cold. "Hello sweet little sister."

A/N: Yaaay! Nother cliffhanger. Yay, tomorrow is the last day of school! Yay!

REVIEW! The Cheese God Wills you to Review, or…. He'll give you indigestion when you eat cheese!


	25. Chapter 25

"Hello sweet little sister."

Instantly she froze, the hairs on the back of her neck stood as she turned to face someone that she had been wishing her whole life was burning in hell.

Blood red eyes stared back at her; Cavra hadn't changed much from her nine-year old self. Pitch-black shoulder length hair framed her face. Black gloves covered her hands, the smell of her made her stomach turn; she smelled of human blood. Cavra always was fond of killing things. Too bad that hadn't changed…

The smiling face turned to a frown. "What's the matter? Why, with that shocked expression on your face, I'd almost think you actually believed the lie that I was dead." She let out a sigh. "So naïve." A smile lit up the face as she took a step forward.

Kikiru took half a step back and met a wall. Her mind finally registered the fact that her sister – and she used that term lightly- was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. "Isn't that just like you, joining a group of murderers because you couldn't stand being alone." She hadn't really meant to say it, it kind of slipped out.

The red eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

Lips formed a smile; a plan had formed within that instant. "You heard me. I said you're so pathetic you can't stand living alone." A bigger smile as she got the reaction she wanted.

"I'll make you regret that," Cavra replied, forming a fist. Kikiru tensed and ducked as she felt a fist fly over her head and crushed the wall she was up against. Kikiru reacted in her own way; a foot flew out and kicked Cavra hard in the stomach. Before Cavra could react to the sudden pain, Kikiru's hand pushed her, but she caught herself just in time to see her younger sister turn tail and run around the corner and out of sight. Cavra let out a small laugh; she had gotten even faster in their years apart, and smarter. She followed in a flash.

"I'm telling you Ichi, I heard something in her room," Dark argued as Ichi and him walked out of their apartment and headed towards their teammate's room.

"Yeah, and I'm saying you're hearing things again," Ichi replied sighing.

"Not-uh! It wasn't the voices! It was for real!"

"Riiight. Well, when we wake her up, you take the blame. She's going to be so-" he cut off as they rounded the corner.

"Told you so," Dark replied as the looked in her room, which looked as if a hurricane had blown through.

"Dark. This isn't a time to be stupid."

"Ok," The idiot replied with a smile as he followed Ichi in through the door.

"What happened in here?"

"I think the sky is trying to tell us something," Dark said absentmindedly.

"Oh would you shut up about the sky already, please," Ichi begged as they stepped over the pieces of wood from the broken dresser.

"You know what, I'm tired of hearing your complaints about _my_ religion. The sky _is_ the supreme overlord. He tells _me _many things, and he says I'm not stupid, you are!" Dark argued.

"Ok fine, go be smart over ther,." Ichi said pointing off towards the bedroom. He was tired of hearing about Dark's made up god, it was kind of stupid and jeopardized the missions a lot. He always yelled that clouds were out to get him and such.

"Ok fine. I will be smart," Dark replied strutting off towards the bedroom.

It hadn't even been a minute when he heard the genius talking to himself. "Wow, they have an odd taste in clothing…"

"What?" Ichi yelled, running into the room.

"Look it's a piece of clothing." Dark said smartly, holding up a piece of ripped cloth that he found.

"Give me that. Let's see, its black with a red cloud. Ring any bells?" Ichi asked.

"Wait. Waaait. Wait... it's coming to me, its coming... I see it now, its right there. Its- Oh My God! A cloud!" Dark started screaming and running around in circles.

"Some help you are…" Ichi said, sighing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I Ave Returned!...yeah, hi. I slacked off for like four weeks. I'm sorry… K-Chan should beat me with a stick, she already threatened to…friend K-Chan is constantly saying 'QUINCY', she doesn't even know what he is. But, she thinks he's cool. I watched the whole Bleach series, its Awesome… ok, back on track. This story shall be done by the end of summer, hopefully… most likely… probably……next chapter reveals the Itichimikarooks Kekkei Genkai, yay!……….. REVIEW IF YOU WANT ANOTHER UPDATE!

(K-Chan: XD Oh god, I love Dark. I have very odd thought though…oh, and I love Ichi, too! X3 He's so cute. I kinda feel bad for him, having to live with Dark and all…but anywho, this chapter made me laugh several times, so I hope you all enjoyed it!)


	26. Chapter 26 Blade

Chapter 26: Blades

_Now what's she up to?_ Cavra asked herself as her sister stopped at a turn in the road and turn to face her. "What? Going to come quietly?"

Kikiru looked at the smug smirk on her sister's face and frowned. "Well someone's gotten stupid."

Cavra let that comment slide with a cruel smirk. "Too bad they won't let me kill you, but at least I'll be apart of it." And with that the two charged, eyes filled with the intent to kill.

"Verin, you there?" Ichi asked into the radio as Dark ran around the ruined room with a kunai in front of him; the idiot was acting as if the people who had trashed the apartment were still there.

A second of static followed. "Yes, I'm here. What's going on?" the man replied.

"W-wait, you already know?" Ichi asked confused.

"Well, I kinda thought something was wrong when Yenmai came whimpering into my room and practically cried like some scared dog."

"What? Yenmai? Since when does he…. Never mind, but Kikiru's room looked like a tornado hit or something."

"Really…? Any… clues?" Verin asked after a pause.

"Well, other than a bit of black cloth with a red cloud, no," Ichi replied. "Now what?"

"Well, it'd only be right if I informed the Hokage of this incident. She might know..." With that, the radio filled with static as the man left them to their own sounds.

"Damn old man...doesn't even bother saying 'bye'…" Ichi hissed as he turned the radio off.

"Oooh! You called the geezer old! I'm telling!" Dark yelled, smiling and sticking out his tongue.

"Oh aren't you smart. Come on, let's go," Ichi said calmly, getting up.

Cavra ducked and sidestepped to the left as her sister's fist, radiating with blood red chakra, barely missed her stomach.

_Visible Chakra?...it must be the Hachimata's. So she has learned to control it...interesting. I wonder what else she's learned._

"Surprised?" her sister asked as she charged again.

It took a couple of blows for Cavra to finally guess what jutsu her sister had used, and it was a very helpful one for someone of her sister's size. The jutsu was a village secret, one that enhanced the thrust power of a blow. Adding her speed to the jutsu made it cause even more damage. The jutsu was somewhat like the abilities a medic nin had, except it drained Chakra at an unbelievable rate. But, that wasn't a problem for one of the nine Jinchuriki.

"That's from the Akatsuki!" Shizune cried out to everyone in the room.

"That's bad, isn't it?" Verin asked, having no clue as to who the Akatsuki were.

"Very. They hunt down the Jinchuriki and kill them for the Biju," Tsunade said quietly.

"And they wear clouds!" Dark added. Everyone in the room decided to ignore him.

"Do you think we should call out the Anbu?" Shizune asked Tsunade, who was deep in thought.

"Che, I wouldn't advise it. She wasn't taught everything in the village for nothing," Ichi mumbled to himself, expecting no one to hear but forgetting the room was quiet.

"And why's that?" Tsunade asked him. Ichi turned a deep shade of red as all eyes turned on him.

"Kekkei Genkai…" Verin whispered.

"What kind, what does it do?" Tsunade asked.

Cavra frowned as her sister set off running again; it was getting quite annoying. "Are you going to keep running like the chicken you are?" Cavra yelled as she followed.

"The pieces of the puzzle come together in the end," her sister said over her shoulder.

"That we shall see!" Cavra yelled as her sister turned the corner and disappeared from view. Cavra pulled a kunai out of the holster as she turned the corner.

Two blades met in the morning mist, a shower of sparks falling as Kunai met Katana.

"H-He gave that to you!" Cavra hissed, utterly disgusted.

"Oh that's right. I forgot that you were hoping he'd give to you. I'm sorry, you want it?" Kikiru laughed coldly at the look on her sister's face.

"I'd rather pry it from your cold dead fingers!" Cavra yelled, pushing her sister's blade back and swinging down, only to catch the back of her sister's leg as she turned and fled once again.

"Bitch, I'll get you for that," Cavra hissed as she followed, re-sheathing the kunai.

**_What are you planning? You better not get me killed._**

_Don't worry, I have a plan. The Hokage's office is just around the corner._

_**Oh. So you're planning on fighting there so if it gets out of hand they ca-**_

_No. It's so we won't run into anyone…_

_**Why do you worry about that?**_

_I'm planning on letting you out, I'll have to._

_**I really look forward to it….**_

"Dark, if you will." Verin said to his subordinate, who smiled and imitated pushing a pair of glasses further up his nose.

"It's complicated to explain, but I'll try. Around the age of three, every member in the Itichimikarook family deemed worthy has a diamond shape cut out in the center of their palm, all the way through removing bone and such. It's called 'Hebi'."

Cavra's eyes narrowed as she turned the corner to see her sister standing somewhat in front of the Hokage's office. Her face was one of emotion and she was making hand seals and focusing her chakra to her hands.

Cavra smiled to herself; she had never really fought with another of the ame ability and this would be interesting. She stopped and started making the hand seals.

Dark paused as several people in the room made unpleasant faces at the thought. "The hands are then bandaged in special wrappings and aren't allowed to scab over or anything of the sort. Over the years they are trained in combat with such weapons."

The wrappings that covered Kikiru's hands undid them selves to reveal two moon-white hands that were marked with the sign of Hebi.

Both of their palms started to glow as the Yaiba started to form.

"If you haven't noticed, the family has silver blood, which comes with the Genkai. It becomes the strength of the jutsu and later on destroys the body. You see, their blood is high in minerals, those minerals when mixed with chakra become deadly."

As the Yaiba formed, silver blood started weeping down from the center as the wounds opened again.

"For it to form the wound needs to open again. As with every Kekkei Genkai, this one also has a weakness. As the wounds open up it puts extreme stress on the body to keep it from bleeding to death. Eventually the body will stop healing, period."

"Kencho Hebi no Yaiba!" the two shouted as they met in a shower of super-heated sparks. Cavra saw the blood lust in the Hachimata's red eyes.

Her sisters eyes had turned red and her two canine teeth had changed into fangs. A soft hiss left her sisters lips as Kikiru's right hand came flying towards Cavra's head only to be blocked by her left as their hands detached and they spun, meeting again in a shower of sparks.

"The jutsu is made to cut through anything, bones, flesh, earth; you name it. But there are a few things that can stand up to it, like weapons that are meant to suck chakra from the opponent and special weapons." Dark explained.

Left meets right, right meets left, spin, duck, block, lash out; the cycle was continuous and only lasted when one faltered in their decision. The two were moving as one but not as one, a blur as they tried to best the other in striking speed, but it was to no avail. Kikiru's speed matched Cavra's thrusting power; they were evenly matched. The only thing that could possibly stop it was if someone interfered.

A/N: god damn! sorry but this is truly the hardest chapter I've ever worked on. God, you have no idea how many times I went over, deleted, and rewrote this thing. You better leave reviews, this is too stressful! I'm going to go get some chocolate! (BTW: Kencho Hebi no Yaiba means: Blade of the Striking Serpent… yeah… I'm tired…)


	27. News

AN: Hi everybody, sorry for the lack of updates but you'll have to wait a bit longer I'm going through the other chapters and um…. Rewriting them.. .'Cause I'm not happy with them. 'Haste makes waste', and I was in a hurry when I wrote all of them. Don't worry though; the general plotline'll be the same as will the characters. I could never change Dark, I loves him so.

So… You can expect the next new chapter by the um…. Fifteenth? K-chan's probably going to hold me to that too… I'll try…

Sorry for disappointing you and all with this wonderful 'update'. But, it must be done. So, if you want to point out any mistakes, flames, or ideas you have for past chapters you can either leave it in a review or email it to me.

Dragonfly, returning to her hidey-closet.


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